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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236884">You in Every Dimension</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoodyFern/pseuds/MoodyFern'>MoodyFern</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Good Girls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Interior designer!Rio, Slow Burn, mentions of cheating</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:28:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,213</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoodyFern/pseuds/MoodyFern</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Story inspired by Beth’s empty house, Rio’s good taste in interior design and the eternal question: “What do you want, Elizabeth?”</p><p>OR Beth hires Rio to decorate her new house.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beth Boland/Original Character(s), Beth Boland/Rio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>374</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Everything I’ve thrown away (I don’t wanna be)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had this idea a few months ago while writing something else. After typing a (too) long draft of the first three chapters (tons of reference photos and all!) I kinda got stuck on a scene in the middle and decided to forget it until it starts to make sense again. And now I figured posting some of it may make me continue writing it. There should be about 6 or 7 chapters if they don't keep expanding. It's unbeta'd, so everything wrong with it is my fault alone.</p><p>So without further ado – interior designer!Rio AU no one asked for.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>The door is wide open so he walks in, pausing for a second in the entryway until he hears the clicking of heels against a hardwood floor echoing around the empty house.</p><p>“In here!” A silvery voice calls.</p><p>The first thing Rio notices when he enters the space is how bright it is. A narrow entryway opens into a large open living area with a high ceiling and tall windows perfectly placed to catch the sunlight under all the right angles. He likes this space.</p><p>“Hello. Nice to finally meet you in person! I’m Beth Boland.”</p><p>A buxom bombshell is walking up to him hiding her curves under some mama jeans and a hideous red shirt with floral print.</p><p>“Marks, Beth Marks. Sorry, I keep forgetting,” she adds, shaking her head, strawberry locks bouncing about with the motion.</p><p>She greets him with a bright smile, the flash of pointy little catlike canine teeth taking him by surprise. And if that isn’t the cutest shit he’s seen in his life.</p><p>“It’s okay. I’m Rio Martinez, nice to meet you Ms. Marks.” He shakes her hand.</p><p>“Beth. Just Beth is fine.” She adds in a soft voice, holding his hand just a second too long.</p><p>He smiles politely as he looks around himself while she drones on about her recent divorce, her kids, the new cake-shop-slash-café business, and the added pressure of people’s expectations of her, being on the PTA, chamber of commerce, and a den mother. Her voice is bright and honeyed, reminds him of an overzealous kindergarten teacher. And all he can think is – <em>what a load of bullshit</em>.</p><p>He understands people as well as spaces; he’s always been good at reading them. And there is just some discord he can’t quite place between the vibe she gives off and the way she speaks. She sure sounds confident and seems to believe in this version of herself she’s pitching, but he has trouble believing that a word of what just came out of her mouth isn’t just some prattle she thinks people want to hear.</p><p>“Please help yourself to some coffee and cinnamon rolls.” She adds like a cherry on top, gesturing towards the coffee pot and pastry set out on the small round folding table, the only piece of furniture in the room, and he could swear it was the first time she stopped to inhale.</p><p>Rio wants to say that he’s already had breakfast, that he doesn’t usually eat when he wants to get down to business, but this lady seems wound up so tight she might snap if he disrupts her perfect host routine.</p><p>So he bites into a cinnamon roll while she goes on about her ideas for the house, right down to the materials, color schemes, furniture layout. And --</p><p>“Can I ask you somethin'?” He licks off the remaining sugar off his thumb and forefinger.</p><p>Her eyes follow the gesture as she replies slowly, “Of course.”</p><p>“Why did you wanna hire an interior designer? You clearly have a very specific taste and the way you want things done.”</p><p>“Well, I was planning on doing it myself, but as I’ve told you, I’m too busy with the café and my --”</p><p>“Kids. Right, right. Well then, why don’t you worry about all that and let me do what you hired me to do. Cool?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And <em>not cool</em>, Beth thinks, wondering why she chose this guy. Cecilia from the PTA recommended him and apparently he’s some hotshot designer who mostly works with high-profile clients, but he seems like he’s going to be difficult to work with and is being plain rude. She also didn’t miss the annoyingly smug smile plastered on his face from the moment he walked in.</p><p><em>Glowing online reviews though</em>, she reminds herself in order not to fire him on the spot and try to find the time she knows she doesn’t have and do it all by herself. <em>Glowing reviews, Beth. You can keep it together for just a few weeks and try to play nice.</em></p><p>She clears her throat. “It’s not that I don’t trust your artistic vision, but I want this place to look like I would actually live in it.”</p><p>Beth immediately thinks of her old house, the one she bought with Dean. Thinks of all that antique furniture his parents gifted them for their wedding, such as the grandfather clock which was Bolands’ most prized family heirloom. She had to decorate her house to match the style, and Judith was always more than eager to come along when Beth went shopping for some additional pieces and sway her towards the <em>right</em> choice.</p><p>On the whole it’s not that she didn’t like her old house, she did. It just never felt like the space that was her own, haunted by all the Boland history that Dean and his parents liked to reminisce about.</p><p>
  <em>“Do you know that my ancestors brought that grandfather clock across the country in a covered wagon?” Judith would say over dinner.  “Oh, my mother’s favorite chandelier looks just perfect in your dining room. Did I tell you that her father brought it for her as a wedding gift - from France?”</em>
</p><p>She’s stirred from her thoughts by Rio’s voice.</p><p>“And it will. I’m gonna give you a questionnaire, and come up with some suggestions based on your answers so we can work from there. A’ight?”</p><p>She opens her mouth to speak and he adds before she has a chance to interrupt him, “You can veto any ideas you don’t like, I just ask that you let me stick to my process. If that’s not something you can do, then you’re free to hire someone else.” He sets his jaw, eyes gleaming in challenge.</p><p>Beth really wishes she could fire him, but she’s already lost enough time finding him, waiting for him to fit her into his busy schedule and now she really can’t afford to go through the whole process again with someone else. She needs to finish the house so that the kids can finally move in. The thought of them staying at Judith’s any longer than necessary makes her skin crawl. Her ex-mother-in-law hasn’t yet run out of new and creative ways to slip into conversation thinly-veiled suggestions that the divorce was somehow on Beth, and not Dean’s wandering dick.</p><p>Another reason she can’t put this off anymore is that she’s staying with Ruby and Stan until she gets at least some furniture. And as glad as Ruby is to have her there, she wants to get out of her friend’s hair as soon as possible.</p><p>“No, I’m good. Let’s give it a shot.” She finally says with a sigh.</p><p>He smiles in amusement. “Cool. Now let’s get crackin’.”</p><p>She takes him around the house, showing him the rooms one by one, while he takes photos and inputs some information into his tablet.</p><p>Beth hangs back, allowing him to work as her eyes roam appreciatively around each room that they enter. She’s really happy she was able to get this house. It was out of her price range but thankfully she was able to get a loan from the bank. The previous owners told her it used to be a schoolhouse before it was converted into a home, which explains the high ceiling lending the house that spacious feel. The ground floor consists of the large open living and dining area, and through the first door to the right is a huge kitchen of her dreams where she could see herself trying out new recipes for work. The backdoor through the kitchen leads to the backyard, much smaller than the one in her old house, but somehow more charming and tucked in. The second much smaller room to the right is going to be her home office, and the third a guest bathroom. Upstairs is her bedroom with an en suite, and the kids’ rooms. They were all ecstatic to each get their own room, but hated that they still had to share a bathroom, the girls complaining that Kenny spent too much time in there pooping.</p><p>She sighs remembering she had to listen to them bargaining over who gets which room for days until they reached an agreement.</p><p>After they’ve been through all the rooms in the house, they go back downstairs and Rio gives her the questionnaire to fill while he goes through all the rooms again using a laser measuring tool to check the dimensions of each room and spaces between different points in it.</p><p>Beth looks at the papers she’s holding. There must be at least twenty pages there. <em>Well, at least he’s thorough</em>, she thinks leaning over the small folding table while she jots down answers to some standard questions such as: What colors do you like/dislike? What patterns do you like/dislike? How many people will live in this house? How many people do you usually entertain in this space? Then, there are some photos of rooms decorated in different styles and questions such as: What do you like about this space? What do you hate? What would you change?</p><p>After several more pages of similar queries she turns the page to find some more unusual ones: If you could only save one object from a burning house, what would you grab first? A quote you live by? What brings you the greatest joy? Are you a morning person or a night owl? What music do you like? What book are you currently reading? What would your perfect vacation look like? Describe your ideal partner? A perfect date? And — <em>what</em>?</p><p>Did he not think his 50 questions about design preferences were enough, so he copied a page from Cosmo just to mess with people? She wouldn’t put it past him since he seems like a total jerk.</p><p>She stomps over to him, her heels echoing menacingly against the sleek wood. Rio is just about finished with his measurements and turns to look at her. He doesn’t exactly roll his eyes but she swears she can feel that he wants to, and it’s enough to infuriate her.</p><p>“I’ve answered most of these, but some are too personal and frankly none of your business.” She waves the papers towards him, and he takes them with a smug look on his face. He turns exactly to the page where the unanswered questions are and his smile widens. She swears this man is just —</p><p>“Is something funny?”</p><p>“Nah. Nothin’ funny about not knowin’ what you want.” His bottom lip juts out and his brows knit together in a faux-innocent pout. “But I guess it’s never too late to find out, huh?” He shoots her a toothy grin then and she swears she wants to rip up the stupid questionnaire and send him on his merry way.</p><p>The nagging voice telling her she needs to get this job done as soon as possible is screaming at her though and she takes a calming breath. She deals with difficult customers every day. What’s one more person?</p><p><em>Breathe</em>.</p><p>“I know what I want just fine, thank you very much. However, I don’t see how answering these questions helps with decorating my home.”</p><p>“It’s all part of my process sweetheart, but don’t sweat it. Not answerin’ the questions is kinda an answer as well. Know what I mean?”</p><p>And <em>no</em>, she has no idea what he means.</p><p>“Whatever. Well, if you’re all finished up here…?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Let me just pick up my gear.” He drawls, still amused as if annoying her is a new hobby of his.</p><p>Beth doesn’t offer to box up the remaining cinnamon rolls or give him her business card inviting him to visit her cake shop. She doesn’t tell him it was nice meeting him, because it really wasn’t. She doesn’t do anything she normally does when she’s trying to leave a good first impression with the person she’s going to be working with for a prolonged period of time. This man’s rudeness is causing Beth to be rude for the first time in her life.</p><p>She decides that she hates him.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Rio emails her three days later to inform her he had some ideas he wanted to bounce off of her. Since he refused to email her the said ideas, she has to go to the house and meet with him this afternoon to discuss them in person. </p><p>Annie and Ruby usually work the morning shift at the cake shop, and it was too late to ask either of them to step in and help in the afternoon. She had to ask her assistant Gabby to finish the shift by herself and close up the shop. Beth must remember to give her a bonus this month because she has a feeling this won’t be an isolated incident.</p><p>She immediately spots Rio as she drives up to the house, wishing she had a drink before this meeting. He’s parked in her driveway, a soft black beanie sitting loosely on his head, his hands in pockets, he’s leaning against the hood of his car patiently. And a G-Wagon. <em>Really?</em></p><p>His signature smirk is in place and she promises herself she’s going to be perfectly polite in spite of him.</p><p>“Hello. How are you today?” Beth greets him brightly, only to get a “Yo” in return.</p><p>“I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly. Now I see why all the glowing reviews.” She adds in her best PTA voice.</p><p>And he grins, his widest grin yet, wildly amused by her change of tactics.  </p><p>Beth decides to ignore it and push on.</p><p>He picks up his backpack from the car and follows her inside. They go to sit by the dining table that arrived the day before. It’s the first thing she had delivered from her old house and one of the rare pieces of her old furniture that she’s attached to. It was where she served all of her family dinners, where each of the kids would blow out the candles on their birthdays, the table her family and friends gathered around for holidays.</p><p>“Yeah, I hope you’re not plannin' on keepin' this thing.” He eyes the table, grimacing as he drops into a chair and plops the binder with his designs on top of it.</p><p>“Excuse me?” Her voice is higher than she wanted it to be, irritation seeping in, and he just beams at her finally dropping the act.</p><p>“It’s ugly, is all I’m sayin’.”</p><p>“Well I happen to like it.”</p><p>“And it clashes with your floors and beams. It’s just not workin' in this space.” He points to the floor and the ceiling with his long fingers and Beth suddenly notices how large his hands are.</p><p>He has a black tube ring on his right forefinger, a gold signet ring on his pinky, and what seems like a copper band on the ring finger of his left hand, a wedding band she realizes.</p><p>And did some poor soul marry this jerk?</p><p>Sure, he’s stupidly handsome with his sharp cheekbones, full lips, chiseled jawline and a tattoo of a bird with its wings fanned on his neck that compliments his features in a way she’s never seen before… but a jerk nonetheless. </p><p>He clears his throat, snapping her out of her thoughts.</p><p>“The table stays. Now would you be so kind?” She says quickly trying in vain to suppress a blush, and gestures towards his binder. </p><p>Smirking, obviously still amused for some reason, he opens it with a sigh, shaking his head a little.</p><p>“So check it. I’ve come up with these three styles I think would work well in your space. These are not final, and we can change up some things as long as we stick to a general style.”</p><p>And Beth can’t hide her surprise. He has made a digital drawing of her house and filled it with furniture. All three designs are beautiful in their own way.</p><p>The first one is transitional, as Rio explains showing her photos of different rooms of her house furnished with a mix of traditional and modern elements.</p><p>The second one is done in Bohemian style that lends her home a vibe she never thought it could possess. The colors are vibrant and the furniture is an eclectic mesh of styles and patterns that shouldn’t fit together but somehow do. She can’t look away from the splashes of teal, red and canary yellow.</p><p>The third one is a mix of industrial and farmhouse styles and she’s again impressed by the way Rio made these opposing styles blend to create a space that is at the same time inviting and edgy.</p><p>And strangely, she can see a bit of herself in each of them.</p><p>“So, whatchu think?” Rio sucks on his teeth scanning her face for any tell that would reveal what’s going through her mind as she flips through the pages.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter title taken from "Pleased to Meet You" by Rynx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. So much to do in the sunlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can jump to the bottom and check out reference photos so the setting would make more sense.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After some thinking, Beth chose the second option, the colorful Bohemian design. She could tell Rio was surprised by her choice, expecting her to go for one of the two safer options. And to be honest, she surprised herself a little as well, choosing something so different from her previous home, but somehow it felt most like her. And wasn’t the whole point of this a fresh start and finally doing something <em>she</em> wanted for a change?</p><p>She was especially glad that the freedom to mix patterns and textures would allow her to finally dust off some of the quirky vintage stuff she’s collected over the years antiquing, but never found suitable spots for at her old house. She moved it from her attic to a storage unit, almost reconciled with the fact that she would have to organize a yard sale and get rid of it all. And now she’s really glad that she kept putting it off.</p><p>Looking through the 3D designs of the rooms, Beth finally understood the reasons behind some of the questions in that strange questionnaire Rio gave her.</p><p>She did say canary yellow was the color of her favorite bag that she got from Ruby years ago and she loves wearing that thing whenever her clothing combination allows it. She just never thought she would love armchairs in that exact color.</p><p>And yes, the favorite piece of clothing in her closet is a fitted red dress that she only wore once to a friend’s wedding where Dean kept whining about the dress being too flashy and not matching his tie.  Still, it never occurred to her that she would love to see splashes of red around her living room.</p><p>Seeing teal and turquoise elements strewn around the house she remembers seeing these colors in the questionnaire and circling words such as calmness, creativity, and balance to describe teal, and turquoise the color that makes her think of relaxation, joy, and openness.  It’s the color she always associates with one specific morning when she sat alone on the beach at sunrise, sifting the barely warm sand through her toes and enjoying the sound of the ocean, admiring its vastness. It was on her honeymoon in Hawaii, the only trip they took that was longer than two hours’ drive. They made plans to go again with the kids this time, but something or other always made them postpone their trip.</p><p>And now, seeing all these positive memories and associations stare back at her from the page, she had to admit that Rio knew what he was doing. And she was never more certain that the decision to sell her old house was the right one.</p><p>Dean had insisted that she keep the house after the divorce, but she felt like she would suffocate in that place. For every fond memory they’ve made, there was also a memory of late-night fights, the days she spent taking care of the kids alone while Dean worked overtime at the dealership, slowly drifting into depression without him taking a moment to notice. And then the more fresh memories: the day she confronted him about his affair, the subsequent conversations that revealed there was more than one. And then the fighting, doors slamming, and more fighting before they finally called it quits. Yes, the house was brimming with memories. So she decided they should sell it and both get new places where they could make new memories, unburdened by their past.</p><p>With the new house, and her cake shop becoming a hit from the get-go she could really feel her life take a new shape, see the possibilities instead of shattered fragments of something she didn’t realize was cracked all along until she was left to pick up the sharp pieces strewn around. And suddenly her divorce doesn’t feel like an ending, a failure on her part, but a new beginning.</p><p>She never knew when she baked for the school functions, or took part in the State Fair mini muffin competitions, winning two years in a row, that it would lead her to where she is now.  But people knew how good her baking was, and no one seemed surprised when she opened her own place. Orders immediately started flooding in and haven’t stopped since. Only then did she realize what a logical step it was. She just wishes her life didn’t have to crumble for her to get there.</p><p> </p><p>A phone ringing stirs Beth from her reverie.</p><p>“You’ve reached Pieous. What can we do for you today?” she answers the phone, wedging it between her shoulder and cheek as she writes down the order.</p><p>“Okay. So that’s two dozen peanut butter lava fudge cupcakes and two lemon pies for tomorrow at 11:00 AM?” Beth confirms jotting down the details, vaguely aware of the sound of the shopkeeper’s bell and someone coming to stand in front of the pastry showcase.</p><p>“Thank you very much. Have a nice day!” She adds sweetly before hanging up and turning to look at her next customer.</p><p>“Hello, how may I — Oh. It’s you.” Beth’s face falls a little and she immediately drops the hospitable tone when she’s met with Rio’s ever-present grin.</p><p>He chuckles at her reaction. “Hope you don’t greet all your customers with this much enthusiasm.”</p><p>“No, just the ones who deserve it.” She mutters.</p><p>“Ahhh, and here I thought we were makin’ progress.” He drawls.</p><p>“What do you want? And how did you find this place? I don’t remember giving you my card.”  <em>I specifically remember deciding not to give you my card</em>, she doesn’t say.</p><p>“Relax sweetheart. I ain’t stalking you or nothin’. Your shop’s info was in your email signature.” He shakes his head, a bit bewildered. “I remembered you telling me you run a cake business. And I happen to need some cupcakes today.” He says, looking at her amused but still a tad perplexed.</p><p>“Oh.” She exhales suddenly blushing with embarrassment.</p><p>“If I thought it was gonna be weird — ” Rio dips his head shrugging and swinging on his feet.</p><p>“No, no, it’s not weird.” She laughs too unconvincingly. “I just had too much coffee earlier, and… never mind.” She blinks and shakes her head quickly, “So how can I help you today?” Her best customer-friendly smile plastered on her face now, she hopes he’ll forget this interaction as soon as possible.</p><p>He stares at her for a moment, studying her sudden change in demeanor in that way he does and that she finds incredibly annoying.</p><p>“Yeah, those cupcakes you mentioned earlier…”</p><p>“Peanut butter lava fudge?”</p><p>“Yeah, a dozen of those.”</p><p>“Okay,” Beth starts putting the cupcakes into the box.</p><p>“And a dozen of these,” he adds leaning back a little and pointing his long index finger at the blueberry lemon cupcakes.</p><p>“Anything else?”</p><p>“Some coffee to go. Black.”</p><p>“Okay,” she repeats, busying herself with the boxes and trying to avoid any further interaction, hoping he’ll go away as soon as she packs these.</p><p>“So who’s decorated this place for you?” He asks, and she glances at him to notice his eyes travel over exposed brick walls that look in line with the latest trend, but actually, it’s just the state they were in when she bought the place. She concluded it would be cheaper to leave them be than hang the drywall and repaint. He moves on to look at the tiny candy jars on the shelves, framed pictures of various sweets, until his eyes land on the small chalkboard art decorating her walls with lines like: ‘<em>All you need is flan’</em>, and<em> ‘whip it, whip it good’, </em>written on them. Corners of his mouth tug up into a small smile.</p><p>Beth hates that he’s in here, her happy place under his scrutiny.</p><p>“I did it myself.” She replies finally. “I couldn’t afford to hire someone to do it at the time,” She starts defending herself and her cheesy taste in decoration, “and we aren’t all as skilled as —”</p><p>“Nah, I love it.” His voice rings genuine.</p><p>“You do?” And her tone betrays the surprise at his validation a bit more than she’d like.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s got… charm.” He says with a curl to his lips as if there’s something more that he isn’t saying.</p><p>Beth finishes packing his order and pauses for a second before she takes a small cardboard box, puts his coffee cup in it and adds a chocolate chip cupcake. She pushes the boxes across the counter towards him and when he stares at the small box on top she adds, “On the house. I hope you like chocolate chip.” He just raises his eyebrows slightly, eying her with an unreadable look on his face so she continues, “We also have other —”</p><p>“Nah, nah. Chocolate chip is fine.” He smiles warmly for the first time and Beth realizes his smile is kinda beautiful when it’s not used as a weapon. He pays for his order and they exchange quiet nods before he leaves, the tiny bell above the shop door announcing his departure.</p><p> </p><p>The rest of her shift goes by in a haze as she sifts through their interaction, trying to figure out how she’s going to face him again after her embarrassing behavior. She isn’t sure why she reacted the way she did. Surely she didn’t think an esteemed interior designer was creeping on a single mother of four. But there’s just something about that man that raises her hackles, turns her into the worst version of herself, until she is unable to put up a front that usually fits her like a glove.</p><p>One thing she’s sure of — he will definitely be getting his cupcakes elsewhere from now on.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Rio’s crew arrives a few days later to start painting the walls and work on the lighting. With Beth’s work at the shop, school runs, and the time she spends with the kids at Judith’s, she doesn’t see much of Rio when he stops by to check on the progress. They’ve emailed back and forth about the changes she wanted to make and he’s suggested some as well.</p><p>It isn’t until a week later, when she takes Friday off that she finds him at the house, hearing him before she sees him. His deep voice ringing around the empty house makes her skin prickle as she rounds the corner to find him crouched in the middle of the living room, talking with a little boy in front of him. He seems to be Jane’s age and incredibly cute with his hair neatly combed to the side, dressed in a blue button-up shirt, and a wide toothy grin plastered on his face. A grin not unlike his father’s she concludes because he must be Rio’s son. The resemblance is uncanny. They both turn to look at her at the same time as she slowly walks up to them feeling like an intruder in her own home.</p><p>“Hey,” she greets Rio before she turns to the little boy. “I’m Beth. And what is your name?”</p><p>“My name is Marcus.” the boy declares politely.</p><p>“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Marcus.”</p><p>Rio stands up and puts his hand on the little boy’s hair, “Pop, you remember those cupcakes you and all of your friends liked so much at your cousin’s party?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Marcus exclaims excitedly.</p><p>“Yeah? Well, Ms. Elizabeth here made those,” Rio explains.  “So what do we say?”</p><p><em>Elizabeth? </em> </p><p>Beth blinks at the use of her full name.</p><p>“Thank you, Ms. Elizabeth. The cupcakes were very good!” The little boy says, his grin only growing.</p><p>“You’re very welcome, honey,” Beth replies with a grin of her own.</p><p>“Now why don’t you go and see if you can help uncle Mick paint while I talk with Ms. Elizabeth for a minute, okay?”</p><p>Marcus nods firmly before he runs off, his face turning serious as if he was just given a task of utmost importance.</p><p>Rio turns to her finally, “I hope this isn’t a problem. His mom was supposed to pick him up from school but she had a work emergency.”</p><p>“No, not a problem at all. He’s such a sweet boy,” Beth assures him and catches a proud glimmer in his eye as he glances in the direction Marcus has gone. “And so polite,” she adds, unable to hide envy in her voice as she says it because she can only dream of her kids being that well-behaved.</p><p>He chuckles at that, “Yeah, I can’t take much credit there. That’s mostly Rhea, his mom. She’s so good with him.” And there’s that glimmer again.</p><p>Beth swallows, unable to look away from the man’s face, admiring the fondness in his features as he speaks of his wife. She can’t imagine ever speaking about Dean with that same glow, even when they were at their best.</p><p>She’s thinking of something else to say before he notices her staring, but he speaks first, “Listen, I’m glad you’re here because there was some stuff I wanted to show you.”</p><p>He walks towards the large window in the dining area and touches the white brick tiles on the wall next to it. “So I know we’ve agreed to strip these off and replaster, but…” he pauses and runs his hand further down the tiles, and as he moves she notices a narrow hole in the wall that was hidden behind him. It starts around his shoulder and goes all the way down to the floor. With the tiles and plaster removed she can see the brick wall underneath.</p><p>“Check this out. My boys started stripping the tiles but then I had an idea. So I made them take down the tiles and plaster right to the brick and — doesn’t it look dope?” He looks so excited as he talks about it that she can’t help but drink in the sight.</p><p>“So what do you think?” He eyes her expectantly.</p><p>She diverts her attention to the wall quickly, “About the hole in my wall?”</p><p>Rio shakes his head and rolls his eyes as if she cracked a joke, when she really has no idea what she’s looking at here.</p><p>“No, see we would extend it to the ceiling, and maybe do another patch on the other side of the window. So what you would get would be something like —”</p><p>“The walls in my shop?”</p><p>“Yeah” He looks back at her and his face lights up at her finally catching up. “And in the process, we would save some of these very expensive tiles that you wanted to get rid of,” he adds looking back at the wall and giving her a sidelong glance like she’s a misbehaving kid.</p><p>“Very outdated expensive tiles.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah.” he sighs disapprovingly, “So what do you say?”</p><p>She hums, bites her lip, and sways from side to side a little before she replies, “Sure, why not. It actually sounds good.”</p><p>“Yeah?” He flashes her the brightest smile she’s ever seen and, <em>god</em> he needs to stop doing that because her stomach suddenly does a backflip. And <em>what the hell?</em></p><p>She prefers the annoying version of him.</p><p>He saves her from staring at him embarrassingly long again when he walks towards the dining table where his computer and sketches are spread out, and she follows.</p><p>They spend the next hour going over the plans for the house, Marcus bouncing between helping the crew paint and helping them decide on the colors for the kids’ rooms.  When the painting crew gather their stuff and start to leave Beth realizes it’s almost dinner time.</p><p>“Oh my god, I’ve just realized how late it is. Marcus must be hungry. Do you guys want to stay for dinner? We could order some pizza.” And she immediately remembers that they must have dinner waiting for them at home, but Rio surprises her by accepting.</p><p> </p><p>Beth isn’t sure if he’s on his best behavior because his son is there, but she notices that Rio isn’t half as annoying as he usually is, and that she's actually enjoyed this afternoon spent working with him. Biting into her slice of pizza she wonders if he’ll be back to his usual self next time when he shows up by himself.</p><p>While they eat, Marcus tells her about school, his favorite subjects, cartoons, and then asks about her own kids. It turns out that he loves football as much as Jane and plays the same video games as Danny does. By the time she walks them out, she’s had to promise him twice that he would get to meet her kids next time.</p><p>On their way out Rio turns at the doorstep, almost causing Beth to slam into him, “Thanks for the dinner, yeah.”</p><p>She tries to ignore the weird feeling that sweeps through her at the small smile that settles on his lips, and she snorts, “It’s just pizza.”</p><p>“Still,” he adds, squeezing her arm lightly before he walks off.</p><p>Beth stays at her doorstep a moment longer before she remembers that she should lock up and head to Ruby’s.</p>
<hr/><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm not sure how these appear on your phone. You might need to scroll to the side to see the whole photos.</p><p>Also a few things about the Bolands in this universe that I should mention. Dean didn’t fake his cancer or bankrupt them in this one, he is still a cheat and all-around sleazeball of course.  Beth may also seem more prim and proper because she didn’t go through the full course of Dean’s lies, F&amp;F robbery, being held at gunpoint, etc.</p><p>Chapter title from "As We Go Along" by The Monkees</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Dive right in (and follow my lead)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, I have a question.” Annie starts, leaning on her elbows over the counter, and Beth rolls her eyes.</p><p>
  <em>Here we go.</em>
</p><p>Beth lets out a long audible sigh, spraying the table in front of her with the cleaner before wiping it down. She’s switched shifts with Ruby so that she could have the afternoon off and go see Emma’s school play. She hasn’t really spent much time with Annie recently, so now that they’re stuck working together she knew she’d have a million questions. It didn’t mean she was prepared for any of them.</p><p>“How have you, Beth Irene Marks, who I’ve seen throw a fit when someone dared reorganize her pantry, allowed someone else to design your whole house?”</p><p>“I didn’t have the time to do it myself Annie, I’ve told you that.”</p><p>“Yeah, but there is a person, no, <em>a man</em> in your house right now choosing your furniture and where it’s gonna go.” Annie’s brows knit, she emphasizes her words by pausing and tapping her fingers on the counter as if the whole thing just doesn’t compute.</p><p>“I’m well aware of that, thank you.” she replies simply.</p><p>Annie narrows her eyes, “Okay. Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”</p><p>She chuckles, “It’s not really like that. He presented me with several options, I chose one, and then we changed some stuff I didn’t like and added some more along the way. So in the end I have the final say in what goes into the house.”</p><p>“Right,” Annie mutters, still unconvinced.</p><p>Beth’s phone pings then and she pauses to check the text realizing it’s a photo — from him.</p><p>“Wow. What is going on right now?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Annie twirls her forefinger in Beth’s direction. “That smile. What is that about?”</p><p>“Oh,” Beth puts the phone back into her pocket after shooting a quick response. She didn’t realize she was smiling. “It’s actually Rio. He found the tiles I wanted, so he sent me a photo.”</p><p>“Uh-huh. And you and <em>Rio</em> exchange a lot of photos?” Annie makes sure to say the name in an exaggerated imitation of  Beth’s voice, and she definitely sounds nothing like that.</p><p>“Please Annie, could you not?”</p><p>“What? It’s a simple question.” Annie raises her eyebrows, shrugging.</p><p>“He works for me, okay. He needs to keep me updated on stuff.”</p><p>“Yeah, but I didn’t see you smile like that when Ruby texted you earlier.”</p><p>“You’re being ridiculous. And he’s married.” If there was any disappointment in Beth’s voice at that last part, she hopes Annie didn’t notice.</p><p>“Okay then.” Annie drums her knuckles against the counter before she pushes off and goes to put some more cupcakes into the showcase.</p><p>“Tell me one thing though.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Annie quirks one eyebrow, “Is he hot?”</p><p>Beth snorts. “You’re a child.”</p><p>“He is, isn’t he?” And if she was joking before, now she’s actually intrigued.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>After her shift, Beth stops by the house to check on the works since she still has some time before she heads out to pick up the kids from Judith’s.</p><p>Ever since their truce the day he brought Marcus to work, Rio and she have been on friendlier terms. He was still deadset on riling her up most of the time, but was able to tone it down when they needed to discuss work. Rio is just in the middle of explaining something about the tile patterns when she gets a text and her brows furrow.</p><p>“Shit. <em>Fuck</em> —”</p><p>An amused look flashes across his face at her swearing, and she just rolls her eyes at him. <em>She can swear. She swears.</em></p><p>“Somethin’ wrong?”</p><p>“No. Yes. Well, no… it’s just Cecelia. She wants three more dozen of cupcakes and some more cookies because she just found out some board members and their families will attend the play and she thinks we don’t have enough food.”</p><p>“Can’t you pop by that shop of yours and get more?”</p><p>“No, we don’t usually have enough of those because they’re a custom order, all gluten and nut-free and… never mind.” Beth takes a breath to stop herself from rambling. She checks the time and exhales with a huff. “I’m gonna have to give Gabby a big fat raise if she manages to swing this.” She giggles, and it was supposed to sound light but even she hears how stressed out she sounds.</p><p>“Cecilia that lady with a mean labradoodle and the sad-lookin’ husband?”</p><p>“Yes. Didn’t you do her house?”</p><p>“I did. Hated her.”</p><p>“Well, she only had nice things to say about you.”</p><p>“Yeah, I bet.” Rio mutters under his breath. “I hope you  chargin’ that bitch double for the extra work.”</p><p>Beth snorts, “As if.” And she continues typing away on her phone, trying to organize everyone last minute. She looks up a minute later to see Rio still staring at her questioningly.</p><p>“I’m not charging them. My kids go there as well.” She shrugs.</p><p>“So?”</p><p>“So I’ve always done it for free.”</p><p>“Yeah, but now you’ve got a business to run darlin’, and if they like your product they should pay for it, support the local business, and whatnot.”</p><p>Beth tries to say something, but her phone rings and she steps away to answer it.</p><p>Gabby assures her that she will take care of everything and Beth arranges for Annie to pick up the cakes so she doesn’t have to run back to the store which is in the opposite direction from Judith’s place.</p><p>She can finally exhale.</p><p>“Alright,” She turns back to Rio.</p><p>“All good?”</p><p>“Miraculously, yeah.” She beams at him in relief, and he returns a small smile.</p><p>She can see that he still wants to say something about the way she should handle Cecilia, but she doesn’t have time for it, so instead, she steers the conversation towards work, and they spend the time discussing that while she waits for Annie to arrive.</p><p>--</p><p>“Yo, I’ve got a delivery for the lady of the house.” Annie calls as she strides across the living area towards Rio who’s talking with his workers, only to stop dead in her tracks as he turns around.</p><p>“Elizabeth’s upstairs, will be down in a minute.”</p><p>“Oh, okay. And you are… ?”</p><p>“Rio. I’m working on the house.”</p><p>“Of course you are...” Annie mutters under her breath, gawking at him but unable to help it.</p><p>“And you must be the sister.” Rio squints at her.</p><p>“Yup. That’s me.” Annie points a thumb at her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh good, you’re here!” Beth calls from the top of the stairs and hurries down, already afraid of what Annie could’ve said in her absence.</p><p>“Yup. Just speaking with <em>Rio</em> here.”</p><p>“Oh, nice, you’ve met. And the cakes?” She asks hurriedly.</p><p>“They’re in my car, ready when you are.”</p><p>“Okay, let’s get going.”</p><p>“Elizabeth?”</p><p>She balks at his use of her name, she always does, and it really shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s the name acquaintances or the kids’ teachers often used before she would tell them otherwise. But it somehow sounds so different in his mouth, surprises her each time, catches her off guard, and stills her.</p><p>“Yes?” She says taking a second too long.                                           </p><p>“You still haven’t told the guys what color you want to paint the upstairs hallway and the master bedroom.”</p><p>“Oh. Well, you do it. I trust you to pick something nice.”</p><p>And she almost turns to go but at the same time she registers her choice of words and he gives her a look that she hasn’t seen before, something burning behind his eyes. So she swallows, her throat suddenly constricted, and reminds herself to breathe. He just blinks and nods slowly.</p><p>“Beth?” Annie clears her throat.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s go.” She almost sprints off after her, not chancing another glance at him.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Emma’s play went well. She talked about it excitedly from the moment she jumped off the stage, and some more when Beth and Dean took them for milkshakes after, pausing only long enough to slurp the strawberry milkshake through the straw.</p><p> And even after hearing the play recounted yet again in the car, Beth still couldn’t help the pride blooming in her chest for her little girl as if she was hearing it for the first time. She really missed having them at home with her.</p><p>Once their evening is over, she helps Dean get them into bed before pointedly refusing the offer of a drink, annoyed that Dean still didn’t miss a chance to use their temporary truce during kids’ school events to try and weasel his way back in. Finally alone and back in her car, she leans her head against the headrest letting the events of this long day wash over her for a minute longer before she starts the car and drives straight to the house.</p><p>It’s getting late, she’s bone tired and can’t wait to get to Ruby’s and crawl into bed, but she also really wants to see how the works are coming along.</p><p>Driving up to the house, she’s surprised to see the light on because the crew should be long gone by now.</p><p>There’s no one downstairs so she slowly goes up the stairs and there, in the upstairs bathroom, she spots Rio, wiping down some grout from between two tiles. And <em>that</em> isn’t really in his job description.</p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>“Workin’.” He doesn’t look up and she’s slightly annoyed that he heard her come in even though she was trying to be quiet.</p><p>“At this hour?”</p><p>“It’s not that late. And I’m just about finished.”</p><p>“It couldn’t wait till the morning?”</p><p>“Nah. I knew you couldn’t wait till the morning to see how it turned out, so I wanted to make sure it’s actually done.” His lips curl into a soft smile, his eyes still focused on the wall.</p><p>“Wow. You’re really not 5 stars for nothing.” Beth chuckles.</p><p>“Yeah. Somethin’ like that.” He drawls, slowly turning to finally take her in, and there’s that weird new look again.</p><p>“Since you’re already here, how about we order some food? You must be starving.” She says not even sure if she made a conscious decision to do so. She suddenly feels less tired, and he’s worked all day. It just makes sense.</p><p>He considers her for a moment, “Sure, but let me choose somethin' this time.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>As he types in the order on his phone, she takes a moment to appreciate the tilework. It’s done very well in a simple combination of white and mint picket tiles. They’ve even hung up a shower curtain with various sea animals. <em>The kids are gonna love this</em>, she thinks.  She moves on to see what he’s picked for her master bedroom. She stands at the door and is taken aback for a moment. A similar color she’s seen in the color scheme for the ground floor, similar to teal but not quite —</p><p>“Deep dive.” The voice comes from right behind her right ear, and she forces herself not to shiver.</p><p>She just turns slowly to look at him.</p><p>“The paint — it’s called deep dive” he adds, staring back at her, still standing too close, though he doesn’t seem to notice or care.</p><p>When she still doesn’t speak, hypnotized by his dark brown irises, he breaks the gaze first with a soft smile as he juts his chin out towards the room.</p><p>“So whatchu think?”</p><p>She finally looks back towards the room again. “It’s beautiful.”</p><p>He just hums behind her with a few pleased nods.</p><p>--</p><p>“Tamales?”</p><p>“Yeah. You’ve never had them this good though.”</p><p>“I don’t know, I actually have this old recipe I use ...”</p><p>“Elizabeth… eat the damn tamal.” He grins and there’s a hint of the tone she uses when her kids are being fussy with their food and, not for the first time, she wants to smack him.</p><p>“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, unwraps one, and takes a bite. And another. She’s about to take a third bite when she sees Rio eying her expectantly and only then she realizes she didn’t even pause to breathe in between the bites. “Okay. These might in fact be the best tamales I’ve ever had.”</p><p>“Told’ya.” Rio mutters with a chuckle, before stuffing one into his mouth.</p><p>Beth takes another tamale, dips it in ranchero sauce, and takes a greedy bite, getting some of it on her face. She simply wipes the sauce off with her thumb, sucks it in her mouth, and licks it off with a perfunctory sucking sound, before taking a swig of her beer.</p><p>“What?” She demands when she spots Rio watching her with a weird expression on his face.</p><p>“Nothin'.” He shakes his head a little.</p><p>“Seriously?”</p><p>He just chuckles and continues eating.</p><p>“Do I have something on my face?”</p><p>“Nah, you got it all off.” He laughs a little again.</p><p>“Then <em>what</em>?”</p><p>“It’s just” he pauses with a fond smile, “It’s nice to see you bein' yourself.”</p><p>“I’m always being myself.”</p><p>“Right.” He mutters.</p><p>“What does that mean?”</p><p>“You’re just frontin' a lot.”</p><p>“I <em>am</em> not.” Beth doesn’t like how high her voice sounds at that.</p><p>He chuckles again, “So if we were in your book club with all your lady friends or a PTA meetin', would you be chuggin' beer and eatin' tamales? Or would you be drinkin' tea with a gluten-free croissant on the side?”</p><p>Beth scoffs. “I’m not some bored suburban housewife.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“And I hate tea.”</p><p>Rio chuckles at that.</p><p>They eat in silence for a minute before Beth speaks again.</p><p>“I’m gonna start charging them for catering stupid school events.” She raises her chin.</p><p>He full-on laughs then, his head tipping back, the sound booming around the empty house and somehow getting stuck under her ribs. Beth blinks and tries to prevent her skin from overheating as she distracts herself by taking another sip of her beer.</p><p>As his laughter peters out, he considers her for a moment longer and Beth can’t ignore the way she feels under his full attention — completely seen, almost bare. She is still trying to figure out if she wants to bask in it or hide.</p><p>“What changed your mind?” He asks finally.</p><p>“<em>Cecilia</em> still went to Kroger and got some god-awful cookies, <em>in case I wasn’t able to deliver.”</em> Beth echoes the other woman’s words with disdain.</p><p>“But you a boss bitch. You always deliver.” He says without missing a beat.</p><p>Beth pauses for a second, beer halfway to her mouth, considering. “Yeah, I am. And yes, I do.”</p><p>He chuckles slowly, pride and a hint of amusement dancing across his features.</p><p>“Well then, to you, <em>Boss</em>.” Rio toasts, clinking their bottles together.</p><p>And Beth can’t believe how fast the time flew by and how late it is once they finally lock up and go their separate ways.</p><p>***</p><p>The next day, Beth is having a long-overdue wine night with Ruby and Annie. Even though she lives at Ruby’s, she has a feeling they haven’t spent any quality time together lately what with their busy schedules.</p><p>Stan is working the night shift at the police station though, and it’s their day off, so the timing was perfect for some long-awaited distraction from the hectic several weeks they’ve all had.</p><p>Beth is just about to say as much, when Annie suddenly barges in, slams the door shut behind her, and marches towards them.</p><p>“Okay, so he’s not hot.” Her hands shoot up in the air.</p><p>Ruby’s eyes widen in confusion, “What is going on right now?”</p><p>“He’s surface-of-the-sun hot. He’s bend-me-over-the-table-and-pull-my-hair-while-you-spank-me-please hot.”</p><p>Beth’s face scrunches up disapprovingly at her sister’s choice of words, “Okay, Annie. He’s still very much married.”</p><p>“Oh, is he, <em>Elizabeth</em>?” Annie lowers her voice doing a poor impression of the way Rio says her name. “He didn’t seem like it while you were ogling each other.”</p><p>“Wait, <em>Elizabeth</em>?” Ruby asks, even more confused.</p><p>“Yeah, apparently they also have nicknames.”</p><p>“That’s my name, Annie.”</p><p>“You know what I mean.” Annie snaps back, frowning.</p><p>“Why does he call you Elizabeth?” Ruby wonders.</p><p>“I don’t know. To annoy me probably.”</p><p>“Oh, ho-ho! Please. All that man wants to do is take a dive right between —”</p><p>“That’s —” Beth interjects quickly raising her hand in the air and furrowing her eyebrows, “ — enough. Really Annie, can we drop it? I wanna watch some bad TV and forget about the house and work and… everything else.” <em>And</em> <em>him</em>, she doesn’t say.</p><p>“Sure, <em>Elizabeth</em>.”</p><p>Beth shoots Annie a murderous glare before Ruby says too quickly, “Alright! So wine, popcorn, couch.”</p><p>They spend the rest of the evening drinking, laughing and thankfully Annie drops the topic of <em>him</em>. She does, however, keep insisting that Beth needs to start dating, and she and Ruby start listing all the cute guys that come into the shop. Beth humors them for a while and blames it on the wine,  but dating is the furthest thing from her mind right now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is becoming a slower burn than I expected. Bear with me?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Take what you can from your dreams</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as they enter the furniture store a shop assistant is there to greet them. He seems to know Rio well, and Beth realizes that he must shop here for his clients often enough. Rio exchanges a few words with him, and Beth can’t help but notice the young man blushing and flirting a little. She feels oddly comforted by the fact that he seems to have that effect on other people as well.</p><p>Rio and she take the elevator to the third floor where the bedroom section is. They’ve already picked two matching closets the day before and they were being custom painted to fit her bedroom. All she needs now is a bed.</p><p>They’ve been browsing for a while and Rio hasn't shown a single sign that he is bored or in a hurry for her to pick something. She reminds herself that this is his job and refrains from comparing him to Dean who would start tapping his foot or cracking his knuckles while sighing in boredom fifteen minutes in.</p><p>“How about this one” Rio points towards a queen sized bed with a burgundy headboard.</p><p>“I don’t know, isn’t this color a bit much?”</p><p>“Nah, it’s perfect for some contrast.”</p><p>Beth eyes the bed, wrinkles her nose a little, and bites the inside of her bottom lip, considering for a moment before she decides to try it out.</p><p>She sits on the edge of the bed and immediately notices that the mattress seems comfortable; bounces a few times before she kicks off her shoes and lies down on it.</p><p>“Wow, I think this might be the one. It’s so soft, but also firm. You know?”</p><p>Rio chuckles, pleased at her excitement so evident in this moment.</p><p>“No, seriously. You have to feel this. Come!” She pats the space next to her and after a moment’s hesitation, Rio kicks off his own shoes and rolls onto the bed next to her.</p><p>“It’s a decent mattress.”</p><p>“Oh come on, it’s more than decent.”</p><p>“It’s okay. Not as comfortable as mine though.” He drawls, stretching a little.</p><p>Beth snorts. And of course, he must have some ridiculously expensive handcrafted mattress made of handpicked cotton.</p><p>As if he knows exactly what she’s thinking, Rio grins and turns to prop on his elbow so he can look down at her through his long lashes, corners of his lips turning up.</p><p>“You know darlin’, If I didn’t know any better I’d say this seems like some lame-ass attempt to get me into bed.”</p><p>And Beth laughs, loudly, and her hand swings toward him to give him a playful smack. As soon as the back of her hand makes contact with his chest, the soft material of his shirt warm with the heat of his skin, she wants to take it back as if it burned her, the gesture suddenly too intimate. But his hand slides over hers suddenly, keeps it in place while slowly stroking her palm. Her eyes snap up to his and she sees a fond smile forming on his lips and then he’s so close, she can feel his warm breath on her face, the smell of his cologne — something earthy and spicy and completely intoxicating. Her head’s swimming because he seems to be leaning down slowly, so slowly she’s not sure that it’s not all in her head and — and then his phone vibrates and he pushes off the bed as if he was never there, pulling the phone out of his back pocket.</p><p>“Hey, mama. Uh-huh. Sure, chicken sounds good. Yeah, you too.” Rio smiles softly into his phone before ending the call.</p><p>Beth sits up, puts her shoes back on, tries to remember how to breathe. She feels awful, the reminder she was just considering kissing a married man thrown into her face like a glass of cold water. And before she can stop herself she thinks of Dean. Of all the women who were in her position once. Did they feel guilty? Did they even think about her? Wonder about her?</p><p>She’s not sure she wants to know. But what she most definitely wants is to be out of this place and far away from this man.</p><p>“Hey, sorry about that.” His voice comes a bit fuzzy around the edges as Beth tries to collect herself enough to put on a convincing smile.</p><p>“No, don’t worry about it. We've finished here already. I think I’m gonna take this one.” She smiles brightly. And Rio stares for a second, trying to figure something out before he blinks and moves past her to look for an employee and give them the delivery address.</p><p>A young brunette is by his side as soon as he looks around himself, and damn, either the service in this place is flawless or Rio’s their favorite customer. Beth watches him give the address, making a joke in the process that has the woman giggling before she writes something down on her clipboard.</p><p>By the time he’s back Beth’s okay enough to smile again and try to fill the uncomfortable silence as they walk towards his car.</p><p>Once inside, the warmth and quiet and the smell of his cologne overwhelming her senses, she can’t help herself — the words slip out without her permission. “You two seem to have a very nice relationship.”</p><p>Rio frowns for a second until he realizes what she means by that, “Yeah, we make it work. It’s all about wanting the same things, you know?”</p><p>“And what’s that?”</p><p>Rio smiles gently, his eyes on the road, “What’s best for our little man, of course.”</p><p><em>Of course.</em> And the answer is so obvious Beth feels stupid for even asking, but it still makes something set heavy in her stomach. He makes it sound so simple. As if wanting what’s best for her kids was enough to keep her marriage from falling apart.</p><p>“I don’t think it’s as simple as that.” She says out loud.</p><p>“Never is.” Rio agrees simply and glances her way before they settle into silence until they’re in front of Ruby’s house. She nods goodbye and Rio looks like he wants to say something as she’s reaching for the door handle, but he doesn’t so she steps out, the cold wind on her face a soothing distraction from the warmth that has settled in her skin.</p><p>She feels like a teenager again, reading into things that aren’t there. Rio is obviously happily married, and if that little moment seemed like anything but playfulness on his part and some innocent flirting, she’s really losing it.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Work proves not to be a sufficient distraction for her racing thoughts because hours later during her shift she can still swear she feels Rio’s breath on her face, his body heat where he held her hand to his chest. Their lips only inches apart as she breathed him in and —</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>“Oh, hello. Welcome to Pieous! What can I get you today?” Beth greets the person across the counter with practiced sweetness.</p><p>“Well, I’m really sorry but I seem to have mixed up the dates and given your assistant the wrong one for the order. See I need five dozen cupcakes and four cherry pies for today, and she kindly told me that you’re overbooked.”</p><p>“I see.” Beth sighs and looks to her left where Gabby gives her a sad smile accompanied by a small shrug. And she realizes this man has been in here for a while talking with Gabby about the issue, but Beth was so absorbed in her thoughts she completely missed their whole interaction.</p><p>“Well, what she said is true. Today is a very busy day, so I can perhaps scrape up something for a smaller order, but —“ Beth lets the sentence trail off.</p><p>“At this point, I will be happy with whatever you can get me. Though I will say that my sister’s boy adores your salted caramel cupcakes and he would be so disappointed if there weren’t any at his birthday party.”</p><p>“Shoot! Well, we can’t disappoint the birthday boy!” Beth exclaims sweetly, “I will see what I can do. Come back in an hour and I will have something for you.”</p><p>“Okay, thank you—” He pauses, eyes her questioningly.</p><p>“Beth.”</p><p>“Beth,” He repeats with a grin. “I’m Bryan.” And Beth notices his bright green eyes, dark brown hair and a beautiful smile. He’s also tall, rather handsome, and has one of those square jaws you only expect to see on magazine covers. She’s somehow completely missed all of that until this very moment.</p><p>“Nice to meet you Bryan.”  Beth smiles back.</p><p>--</p><p>By the time he returns she’s managed to get two dozen salted caramel cupcakes for him, and an assortment of others that she could spare from other orders.</p><p>“Just in time. Your order’s ready.” Beth smiles brightly as Bryan approaches her. “How do three and a half dozen cupcakes and three cherry pies sound?”</p><p>“Like a dream!” Bryan exclaims in relief. “You really saved my skin here. Like, you have no idea.”</p><p>Beth chuckles, “Well, I was happy to help. Just be careful with those dates in the future, okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, 17<sup>th</sup> and 19<sup>th</sup> are my weak spot.” He laughs, “Speaking of dates, can I take you to one?”</p><p>And Beth’s eyebrows shoot up as she’s fighting a laugh from bubbling up.</p><p>“Oh my god, I just heard it. It’s the worst pick up line ever!” He squeezes his eyes shut in embarrassment.</p><p>“Yeah, kind of is.” Beth laughs scrunching up her nose.</p><p>He’s silent for a moment and she realizes he’s still expecting her to answer. And she starts picking through the excuses she has ready to deliver in situations like this one, but the images of earlier today flash before her eyes, and right. She should really do something about that. And what better way than going on a date with someone else?</p><p>“Um, yes. Why not?” She chuckles again.</p><p>“Wow, great. How does Friday sound?”</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p>They exchange numbers before he leaves and Beth is left wondering if this was a good idea or just another complication in her growingly confusing life.</p><p>***</p><p>The new bed and closets arrive in the next few days, and Beth has some of her furniture delivered from the storage unit — her favorite armchair that she scored in an antique shop years ago but was too colorful for her previous bedroom, a beautiful red handwoven rug, and a tassel lamp that she almost had to fight an older lady for.</p><p>She is very happy with the way the house is coming along and even happier that today is Thursday — or the day she finally moves in. Ruby kept convincing her to stay a bit longer, at least until she got her kitchen counters and a working range. But Beth knew that if she gave in now, then her best friend would convince her to stay until she had her living room furnished and then probably her garden landscaped even though it wouldn’t make much sense. Ruby was very persuasive when she wanted to be. So Beth assured her that her fridge has arrived and her heating worked just fine, so she wouldn’t starve or freeze to death.</p><p>As she pulls up in front of the house she sees the moving truck is already there. A burly guy stands in front of it and directs the men carrying the furniture. Rio’s men — as she immediately realizes.</p><p>“Excuse me, what’s going on here?”</p><p>“What do you mean Ma’am?”</p><p>“Why are these guys carrying in the furniture? Where are your guys?”</p><p>“I didn’t bring my guys.” The guy shrugs simply, tapping his pen against his chin, not even looking up from his clipboard as he speaks to her.</p><p>“And why is that?”</p><p>“You didn’t hire us to unload the truck. You just checked two boxes:  <em>load</em> and <em>transport</em>,” he explains lazily.</p><p>“Ms. Marks, it’s fine, the boss okayed this,” one of Rio’s guys, Dags, says as he comes up to pick up a box from the truck.</p><p>“No, it’s not okay. That’s not what I hired you to do. And please, Dags, put down the box.”</p><p>He does as he was told and shrugs as he walks off.</p><p>“That must be a mistake. And I didn’t check any boxes, I spoke with your colleague on the phone, and she—“</p><p>“Lady, I don’t answer the phones. You know what I do? I do what’s written on this form. And right now, this form says: <em>load</em> and <em>transport</em>.” He says finally looking up, turning the form towards her, and jabbing it with his pen a few times as he speaks.</p><p>And something just snaps then.</p><p>Beth snatches the pen and clipboard out of his hand before he realizes what’s going on and puts a huge tick in the box marked: <em>unload.  </em>To drive her point home, she looks him in the eye as she retraces the mark a few more times.</p><p>Mick comes at that exact time, trying to pick up another box “Mick,” she says through her teeth not taking her eyes off the burly guy, “put the box down.”</p><p>“Ms. Marks —”</p><p>“Now.”</p><p>“Okay. You’re the boss.”</p><p>“Goddamn right, I am.”</p><p>Mick walks away, shaking his head and muttering something in Spanish under his breath.</p><p> And okay, she might have overdone it a bit there. But she’s too angry to care.</p><p>“Now that all of the boxes are ticked, you’re going to call your friends and unload the rest of these.”</p><p>Gil, as his name tag says, finally properly takes her in and sighs before he makes the call.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>The next morning, Beth’s woken up by voices echoing downstairs. Actually, one particular voice. It’s not exactly loud, but it’s his voice and it must be what woke her up.</p><p>She checks the time and realizes it’s almost 9 AM. She slept in. She can’t remember the last time that happened. The whole day yesterday Beth was sorting through the boxes, trying to unpack only the things she would need immediately, but it soon got out of hand and she couldn’t stop until she went through almost all of them.</p><p>She deserved to sleep in, she thinks as she slowly stretches, yawning and sinking into her pillows again for just a minute longer before looking around herself, pleased with the way her bedroom has turned out and how bright it looks in the morning sun.</p><p> She throws off the covers, pads over to the en suite, and stops to admire the beautiful tilework before taking a long shower and spending some extra time styling her hair.</p><p>Finally downstairs, she’s greeted by a booming voice as Rio turns from his guys to take her in, “There she is.”</p><p>Beth smiles at him as she walks over.</p><p>“So how does it feel?”</p><p>“Amazing, actually. I can’t believe I’ve finally slept in my own bed.”</p><p>He chuckles, pleased.  “So that mattress was a good call, huh?” Worrying his lip, he eyes her suggestively.</p><p>And it’s so early, Beth’s just not ready for him before she’s even had her coffee.</p><p>As if he’s read her mind he points to the dining table. “There’s some coffee and bagels.”</p><p>“You got me bagels?” She’s rounding the table to pour some coffee.</p><p>“Sure. I get breakfast for all my guys when I’m on-site.” He shrugs.</p><p>She takes a sip and looks at him over the steaming mug, “Am I one of the guys now?”</p><p>Rio grins.</p><p>“Nah.” He pauses to take her in. “You a boss.” And his grin grows even wider.</p><p>She just continues looking at him a bit puzzled because there’s clearly a joke she’s not aware of, so he explains, “Mick told me how you bossed up yesterday.”</p><p><em>And right. </em>Beth rests her elbow on the table and lowers her forehead into her hand, “Ugh, of course he did. They must all think I’ve lost it, huh?”</p><p>“Nah, they think you a boss bitch.”</p><p>Beth laughs at that.</p><p>“For real. He retold how you chewed that guy out at least twice so far. Keeps referring to you as ‘Boss’ all morning.”</p><p>Beth laughs even harder, “Are you worried I’ll start stealing your guys?”</p><p>“Nah. My guys are loyal. He knows who his true boss is.” He eyes her way more seriously than the situation requires and she tries to stifle her laugh.</p><p>“But he likes you.” There’s that glint in his eye again. “And trust me, that ain’t easy to achieve.”</p><p>“Well, I like him too.” Beth says with a smile before she bites into a bagel.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Her shift at Pieous goes by fast. She’s still so excited to go back home, to sleep in her new bed and wake up to the sunlight flooding the space that’s slowly beginning to look more and more like home.</p><p>She keeps having ideas for the kids’ rooms and makes mental notes of all those she should discuss with Rio.  And Gabby seems to notice how excited she is about moving in because she keeps smiling at her encouragingly all day. She’s lucky to have found someone as supportive as her to be her assistant and friend.</p><p>
  <em>Beth still remembers the day she interviewed her for the job. A tall slender woman in her 40s with soft brown hair and kind brown eyes walked in the shop, and unlike other candidates who immediately wanted to get down to the interview, Gabby just stopped to admire the space for a moment. And when asked if she had any questions for Beth, instead of asking all the typical ones Beth has been answering all day, she simply smiled and asked her what her favorite cookie was. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Turns out, Gabby has this theory that she can tell the type of person you are based on the cookie you like. Beth isn’t sure what loving oatmeal raisin cookies really says about her character, but the answer seemed to be good enough for Gabby because she flashed her a satisfied smile before thanking her for the interview. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Beth liked her so much, and she came with great recommendations and work experience. She barely went through the interviews with the remaining candidates and called her first thing tomorrow to offer her the job. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>As their shift’s about to end and they start cleaning up, Gabby approaches her, a huge smile on her face.</p><p>“So? Are you excited?”</p><p>“Oh my god. I am! So excited! I keep thinking about it all day. I know that you can tell I’m distracted.”</p><p>“Yes, but I can’t blame you. I may be celebrating my 15<sup>th</sup> anniversary next month, but I still have eyes.” Gabby laughs lightly, leaning on the counter. And —</p><p>“Wait. What?”</p><p>Confusion replaces Gabby’s smile slowly. “Bryan. Your date? He’s handsome.”</p><p>“Oh.” Beth’s face falls for a second and then she remembers — it’s Friday. He texted her yesterday and they agreed on the time for their date tonight. But she was so busy with the unboxing she completely forgot about it the moment she put down her phone.</p><p>“Well I’m excited about that as well.” Beth smiles what she hopes is a big bright smile but Gabby seems unconvinced.</p><p>“I’m sorry, <em>what</em> did you think we were talking about?”</p><p>“My house. Moving into my house.”</p><p>“Oh. Well I guess that’s exciting as well.” Gabby says slowly, “But you’re telling me you’re going out with that fine piece of man and you’ve been grinning all day thinking about your <em>house</em>?”</p><p>Beth laughs. “Hey, you will understand once it’s done and I invite you over. It’s beautiful. And the people working on it are doing a great job.”</p><p>“Mm-hmm. Annie told me a bit about those <em>people</em>.” Gabby eyes her pointedly.</p><p>One of these days she’s seriously going to have to murder her sister.</p><p>Beth clears her throat and changes the topic to clothes she’s going to wear for her date tonight. So Gabby starts asking her all about the details and they agree that since they’re going to a nice but not extremely fancy restaurant she should wear a simple but sexy dress and some cute pumps. In the end, they agree on her favorite half sleeve black dress with a sweetheart neckline. It’s a classic and you can’t go wrong with it.</p><p>Beth goes to see the kids and hurries back home to get ready before Bryan comes to pick her up in about an hour, a little before eight o’clock.</p><p>The guys are still at the house, working on the lighting downstairs, and she greets them quickly before she runs upstairs to get ready.</p><p>Beth is putting on the finishing touches of her makeup when she realizes the house has been quiet for a while and the crew must have left. She checks the time and since it’s already close to eight, she goes down only to hear some rustling and realize someone is still there. She finds Rio in the dining area carrying some boxes with the lighting equipment. </p><p>He must hear her but he doesn’t look back at her just yet. She takes the opportunity to admire the sinewy lines of his forearms, as he carries the box, the tension in his biceps, and the way the bar tattoos on the back of his arms make the sight all the more appealing.</p><p>“Hey,” she clears her throat and greets him finally before he has a chance to turn and catch her staring, “you came back.”</p><p>“Yeah, thought I’d drop these off so the guys can start working on it first thing tomorrow. I will probably come in a bit later than usual though.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“Ey, and since I’m here I was thinking maybe we could order some —” As he finally turns his mouth falls open and she doesn’t think he realizes it quite yet, "—food." </p><p>“You goin’ somewhere?”</p><p>She blushes too fast for her to stop it anyway, “Yes, actually. I have a date.”</p><p>“Is that right?” Rio says, darting his tongue out to lick his top lip.</p><p>“Yes. What do you think? Not too much for the first date?”</p><p>His eyes that were trailing down her body shoot up to her eyes now.</p><p>“Nah. You’re good.” He clenches his jaw then, face impassive.</p><p>She tries for a small smile and when she tries to think of something to add, the doorbell rings.</p><p>“I should get going. See you tomorrow?”</p><p>“Yeah, as I said I don’t know when I’ll be by tomorrow. “</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“I’ll head out as well. You have fun, yeah?”</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>He throws another glance her way before he walks ahead of her, swings the door open to see confused Bryan moving out of the way, and Rio nods, “Hey, man.”</p><p>“Hi,” Bryan returns, looking at Rio’s back as he walks off, and then at Beth who’s still a little flushed.</p><p>“Hi,” he repeats, and she echoes it with a chuckle.</p><p>“Ready to go?”</p><p>“Yeah, let me just grab my purse.”</p><p>She explains who Rio is in the car and can practically see the tension leaving Bryan’s body.</p><p>--</p><p>The date went well. Exceptionally well. Beth can’t remember the last time she spent that much time just talking and laughing with somebody. Bryan seemed like a very nice guy. As Beth has learned, he is forty, recently divorced, no children,a photographer, likes baseball and his favorite cookie is a snickerdoodle.</p><p>She had a lot of fun and when he drove her home, he was a perfect gentleman and insisted on opening the car door for her, even though she thought there was no need for that. He walked her to the front door, and for a moment they stood there, uncertain how to say goodbye. Then he slowly brushed his hand down her arm and leaned in. He smelled good, like soap and mint, and gave her a moment to pull away if she wanted to before he pressed a soft kiss on her lips.</p><p>They exchanged goodbyes and Beth entered the house, leaning against the door once inside and letting her head fall back with a soft thud. The date was going so well. Why did he have to kiss her?</p><p>She couldn’t help but compare the lack of spark in that kiss that was present in the mere nearness of the other man, turned into a violent current at the brush of his thumb across her palm, the husky cadence of his voice in her ear.</p><p>She was in trouble.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you're on your phone the photos take a bit of scrolling around again, I'm sorry. </p><p>Also thanks everyone who's still reading! I wasn't planning on this to become so long. I started with one scene and a few chapters in mind, but it kept expanding. I'm almost done writing it and I'm looking at 35, 000 words (oops).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Stumbled onto you (as you stumbled over me)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rio doesn’t arrive until noon the next day and when he does he spends time with his crew, directing them and helping out.</p><p>The enjoyment she gets out of seeing him in his element isn’t something she can justify to herself. The razor sharp focus, purposefulness of his gestures, authoritative tone to his voice, and simply a presence to him so unlike anyone else she’s ever met. With the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, she takes in a view of his smooth forearms, lean wrists always adorned by leather bracelets.</p><p>Beth swallows hard. She tries to keep her eyes from darting in his direction too often as she sits at the dining table and works on her computer, adding some photos to the pages Annie has made for Pieous. She’s created a website and an Instagram page and Beth had to admit that her sister did have a point with this. Soon after customers started showing up at the café saying they learned about it online. She can’t tell Annie that though. Telling her she’s right just once, would make her tenfold more maddening for way longer than it should.</p><p>When Rio finally decides to join her for a cup of coffee, Beth’s almost surprised. She was sure he’s been avoiding her. And if she’s honest with herself, the thought stung, even though it would make staying away from him much easier.</p><p>He drops into a chair next to her placing a mug between his palms, his rings clinking as he drums his fingers around it several times. He dips his head for a moment, jutting out his lip.</p><p>“So how’d the date go?”</p><p>“Great. I had fun. He’s such a nice guy.”</p><p>His face tilts towards her, a smug smile on his lips. “That bad, huh?”</p><p>“Oh, shut up.” She takes a sip of her coffee, biting back a smile. “By the way, it’s my day off so kids will be here after school for a few hours while Dean goes to see a new house.” She sighs. “I will try to keep them from annoying the crew.”</p><p>“I’m sure it’ll be fine. So hubby finally getting’ his own place?”</p><p>“Yeah. I think he’s dating again, and living with his mom isn’t a good look.”</p><p>“No, it really isn’t.” Rio huffs out a laugh, then pauses, and Beth’s already preparing for him to leave. Another thing she’s noticed about him is that he never stays long in one place. But then: “So what’d he do?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“Why’d you divorce his ass?”</p><p>“Oh. Sorry, but I’d like to keep some details of my incredibly interesting life for another time if you don’t mind.”</p><p>“Sure, boss.”</p><p>“And stop calling me that. It’s getting old.”</p><p>He laughs.</p><p>“Right. I’ma head out. See you later, yeah?”</p><p>
  <em>And there it is.</em>
</p><p>She nods.</p><p>--</p><p>Watching Jane rolling around bubble-wrapped Emma on the floor, while Kenny and Danny pretend to be fencing using paint rollers, Beth sighs. It started raining a few hours before so they couldn’t go outside and play. There really isn’t much for them to play with in a half-empty house but there’s just something about vast empty spaces that makes kids go crazy. They were more excited about running around the unfurnished living area than to see the parts of the house that were already done.</p><p>Beth needs to slip into her office to make a phone call with her supplier, so she asks Dags to keep an eye on them while she’s gone.</p><p>Her office currently only has a desk and an office chair. While her call is on hold, she swivels in her seat, trying to imagine how the room will look once the bookcase unit, a couple of armchairs and the bench for her window seat arrives. The window seat was Rio’s idea and she could immediately imagine herself lounging there, researching new recipes or just reading a good book.</p><p>The call finally connects and Beth spends longer than she expected on it. Her leg is bouncing nervously, as she wonders if the kids are making a mess outside.</p><p>When she’s finally off the call she swings the door open to hear the familiar booming laugh and finds the kids in the living room gathered around Rio who’s stacking empty paint cans while they run around bringing him more. The structure is already taller than him and the four excited voices keep cheering for him to get a chair and stack them even higher. She should probably swoop in and save him but she’s rooted to the spot by the sight in front of her. Warmth blooms in her chest, and she just can’t help but steal a few more moments of it.</p><p>“Mr. Rio, why do you have a bird drawing on your neck?” She hears Jane ask.</p><p>“Well, it’s for this club I was in when I was younger.” He answers patiently and that seems to be a good enough answer for Jane.</p><p>Then Rio looks straight at her and she blushes, caught. Of course he knew she was there.</p><p>She clears her throat. “Alright you guys, I think you should go pick up your stuff because your dad’s gonna be here soon.”</p><p>As expected, they immediately break out into cries of ‘no’s  and ‘just five more minutes’.</p><p>“Listen to your mama and we may get to do this again, yeah?” Rio says over the clamor, eyes still trained on her.</p><p>They reluctantly shuffle off to find their backpacks and belongings.</p><p>“Thanks for keeping them occupied. I hope they didn’t drive you too crazy.”</p><p>“Nuh, they’re great kids.” His smile seems genuine and Beth is again overcome by that warm feeling in her chest.</p><p>“Thanks.” It’s all Beth manages to get out.</p><p>“I’ll be right back. Forgot some tools in my trunk.”</p><p> </p><p>As he steps outside, he sees a gray Toyota Celica pull up on the curb. A gangly graying dude steps out of the car, and he immediately knows he’s the ex-husband.</p><p>“Hi”, the guy eyes him questioningly as he approaches.</p><p>“Hey, man.” he offers simply.</p><p>“Who—” the guy starts, but then changes course, “I’m Dean, Beth’s husband.”</p><p>
  <em>Ex-husband, you buffoon.</em>
</p><p>“Rio.” he raises his chin in greeting and almost laughs at the guy’s impatience when that doesn’t offer any more answers.</p><p>“Oh, so you’re with the… remodeling crew?”</p><p>“The designer.”</p><p>“Right.” And the guy sighs in relief, almost making him burst into laughter.</p><p>“Well, listen man, I’m glad I’ve run into you because you see, I just got a new place and it could really use some sprucing up.”</p><p>The guy goes on a tangent, something about reading an article on how women dig men with an organized home, and since he’s getting back out there —</p><p>And Rio’s almost tunes him out, nodding along, until the guy makes a joke, something about losing the old ball and chain. Then his fists are balled up on his sides, an incredible urge to flatten the fool making him forget all the reasons it’s a bad idea. He takes a step forward.</p><p>“Hey, you’re here!” Elizabeth’s quick steps and a sugary voice snap him out of it right on cue.</p><p>“Yes, I’m just trying to convince Rio here to do something with my place once he’s done here.” The idiot —<em>Dan is it?</em> — chuckles.</p><p>And as Elizabeth comes to stand beside him he barely makes a conscious decision before he snakes his arm around her waist, and she freezes in confusion, shoots him a quizzical look. </p><p>“I don’t know, man, I’m pretty swamped right now. After I’m done, I have a bunch of other projects lined up. You know how it is. I’ve barely managed to squeeze in Elizabeth here.” And with that he squeezes her waist tighter, draws her in closer until she’s pressed flush to his side and her own hand settles on his chest. And it surprises him a bit so his eyes dart towards hers, and she immediately blushes. His hand slides lower to her hip, and he’s kind of forgotten about her dumbass husband until he hears him clearing his throat.</p><p>“Uh…” And <em>Dan’s</em> eyes fleet over Rio’s hand resting on her hip like it belongs there and he finally seems to work up the courage and opens his mouth to say something, but Rio cuts him off, turns to Elizabeth again.</p><p>“Everything alright in there, honey?” He asks, beaming at her.</p><p>“Um, yeah. Kids will be out in a minute.”</p><p>“Good, good.” He rumbles, breath ghosting over her temple.</p><p>“Umm, Beth?”</p><p>“Yes, Dean?” She says in that overly sweet voice again.</p><p>
  <em>Dean, right.</em>
</p><p>His eyes again fly to Rio’s hand looped around her and he pauses, waiting for an explanation, but when Beth just raises her eyebrows impatiently, he gives up. “I will take the kids to see a movie on Friday. I was thinking that we could all do it together.” And then he throws a quick glance at Rio again, realizing what he’s said and there’s a moment of horror on his face when he probably hopes that didn’t mean he was inviting him as well.</p><p>And it’s taking Rio every ounce of restraint not to laugh then.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure. That sounds fun.” Beth chirps and tries to keep her voice steady as Rio’s fingers flex on her hip.</p><p>The kids run out then and she’s thankful because Rio’s arm immediately drops and he creates some space between them. They come up to kiss her goodbye before running towards the car.</p><p>Dean opens his mouth again, closes it, and then nods his goodbye, as he runs after the kids to put them in their seats. “Hey guys, wait up.”</p><p>He throws one last glance their way as he gets into the car. Beth and Rio stand there for a moment longer, smiling after them, neither in a hurry to break the charade before Dean’s car is driving away.</p><p>“What was that about?” She hisses as soon as he’s around the corner.</p><p>“Come on, darlin’, wasn’t that look on his face reason enough?”</p><p>“Hey!” Beth is about to remind him Dean’s the father of her children and that it wasn’t nice to do that to him, but Rio just playfully raises his eyebrows in challenge, “Okay, it kind of was.” She admits and he chuckles as he follows her inside.</p><p>“But you do know he’s gonna have a million questions the next time I see him. So as satisfying as it was, it’s gonna cost me.”</p><p>“Do you care what he thinks?”</p><p>“No, but he’s got a right to know who I bring around kids, I guess.”</p><p>“Yeah, coz that’s what he’s worried about.” He laughs while Beth pours them both a cup of coffee and leans against the window taking a slow sip.</p><p>Beth rolls her eyes. “I’m serious. What do I even say?”</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll think of something. Make me sound good though, yeah? Throw in some details.” He waggles his eyebrows at her and she snorts.</p><p>“Sure, and when he finds out about Bryan, he’s gonna think I’m two-timing you both.” But then she chuckles, “Though I’d like to see him try to say anything about that.”</p><p>“So that’s what he did? Stepped out on you?”</p><p>Beth only then realizes what she let slip and freezes for a second, then takes another sip of coffee unable to look Rio in the eye. She hates when people find out. Hates to see the pity in their eyes, or even worse to hear them try to console her. It always makes her feel worse, like she’s somehow to blame, like she couldn’t give him what he needed.</p><p>It’s another reason she was reluctant to start dating. The question would have to come up soon enough and it would feel like she comes with a glowing sign above her head informing them upfront that she’s damaged goods.</p><p>She almost forgets about Rio until she hears him come closer. He stands right in front of her and, with a brush of his fingers, tilts her chin up to look her in the eye.</p><p>He sets his jaw and shakes his head a little, “He’s a moron.” It’s simple. And there isn’t any pity in his eyes, only honesty, and maybe even some anger behind them. But he doesn’t try to comfort her any further and she’s thankful for it.</p><p>Trying to change the subject and distract herself from the fact that he’s standing this close, she remembers the detail he shared earlier with the kids. “What you said earlier, about your tattoo… ”</p><p>“Yeah.” He tsks. “There was a time in my life when my career path wasn’t exactly on the straight and narrow.”</p><p>“What made you change that?”</p><p>“I didn’t want to be anywhere near it when my son was born.”</p><p>She didn’t exactly wonder about the story behind the tattoo, perhaps too mesmerized by the way it complements the sharp edges of his jaw and cheekbones, the way it looks peeking above the collar of his shirts he always wears buttoned up all the way.</p><p>“If there’s more you wanna ask, go ahead. I ain’t hidin’ nothin’.”</p><p>And she does want to ask him a million different things because for some reason every little detail she learns about him makes him more enticing, and perhaps that’s exactly why she shouldn’t ask. The less she knows about him the better. She’s already walking a fine line.</p><p>“Another time perhaps.” She smiles and his own lips tug up, eyes studying her the way they always do.</p><p>“Okay then.” He takes a small step back and tilts his head towards the kitchen, “Now, come, before it gets dark. Wanna show you something.”</p><p>Beth follows him through the back door and into the backyard. Last week Rio offered to ask his friend who is a landscape designer to send a few of his guys to do some maintenance and shape up the grass and bushes a little. She didn’t want any fancy landscaping done, since she finds gardening relaxing and is looking forward to planting her own flowers once all the works are finished.</p><p>A two-tier red brick patio runs along the side of the house, but further out there was overgrown grass and bushes since the previous owners hadn’t lived there for a while before finally selling the house.</p><p>They walk down the brick patio and Beth stops to admire the current state of the garden that was in a sad shape only this morning. She steps forward to take a look at all the bushes trimmed and some of the lawn replaced, except the part closest to the patio that they didn’t get to when it started raining earlier. Beth sees a beautiful rose bush that was hidden under some overgrown vines before the workers trimmed them. It’s still muddy from the rain, but she steps forward because she really wants to see it up-close.</p><p>“Just be careful coz there’s this one steep patch –“</p><p>And Rio doesn’t finish his sentence because Beth has stepped right on a sleek patch of mud, arms flailing as she leans too far back. He reaches out, catches her by the arm just in time, but she’s off balance and swings towards him, knocking into his chest and causing him to slip on the same patch of dirt and fall backwards landing in the mud with Beth on top of him, gripping the front of his shirt for purchase.</p><p>— that’s very slippery.” Rio finishes the sentence, his eyes squeezed shut as he recovers from the impact.</p><p>Beth snorts, he chuckles, and then they’re both in a laughing fit for what seems like minutes. Their laughter tapering off, they try to catch their breath, and Beth is suddenly too aware of the fact that she’s pressed up against him, her face almost nuzzled into his chest, his body heat radiating through the layers of clothing and clinging to her like a blanket, his hands on her hips, keeping her from toppling off into the mud. She looks up at him and knows he must have realized it as well because his eyes are trained on her. He blinks once, and this up close she can admire those long lashes as they dip. His hand leaves her hip to slowly brush aside the strand of hair that’s fallen into her face. Then the rough pad of his thumb slides further across her cheek to gently wipe off a spot of mud. Beth’s cheeks grow hot, and she holds her breath hoping she’s the only one who can feel her heart beating out of her chest, but pressed together like this, he must feel and see all the ways her body’s reacting to him.</p><p>And then she’s clearing her throat and trying to push off of him as gently as possible to gain enough purchase with her feet to straighten up. It probably looks as graceless as she imagines, but she doesn’t care, has to untangle from him as soon as possible. When she’s stable on her feet, he’s straightening up as well, his eyes searching her face for something as he opens his mouth to talk.</p><p>“Sorry, I really should’ve been more careful.” She blurts out before he can say anything.</p><p>He’s shaking his head slowly. “Not your fault exactly. I should’ve warned you sooner. But the good news is that the landscaping crew’s takin’ care of that tomorrow, so it won’t be a slippin’ hazard no more.”</p><p>“Oh god, look at your clothes!”</p><p>Rio’s back side is completely covered in mud, including his neck and the back of his arms,  while Beth got away with only some mud on her pants up to her knees, thanks to Rio breaking her fall with his own body.</p><p>“It’s okay, I’ve got some spare in the trunk.” He says, following her towards the backdoor.</p><p>She turns to look at him, a bit surprised, so he adds. “Gettin’ dirty kind of comes with this job. Though it usually doesn’t happen like this.” He grins and Beth smiles as well, trying to keep her blush under control.</p><p>“You have to get cleaned up. Go upstairs and take a shower while I get the clothes from your car.”</p><p>She pauses by the back door to get her muddy shoes off and roll up her pant legs so she doesn’t get mud all over the floor.</p><p>When she straightens up Rio is shirtless, his firm chest on display as he kicks off his shoes and starts unbuckling his pants. “What are you doing?” Beth turns away so fast she could have sprained her neck.</p><p>“Same as you, darlin’. Or do you want me to track in all of this mud?”</p><p>She turns to look at him careful not to let her eyes dip lower than his face, “I’m gonna go in and then you can…” She waves her hand towards him. “Leave the clothes in the kitchen, I’ll deal with them.”</p><p>She takes a step forward but he’s in her space, his shoulder blocking the way and she turns to glare at him, but he’s holding up his car keys and the look on his face tells her he’s having way too much fun with this. She doesn’t feel so bad about him landing into the mud anymore.</p><p>Beth snatches the keys from his hand and stomps inside and towards the front door, when her phone rings. She steps outside and answers it, focused on Jane telling her about her next football game while she looks through the bag in Rio’s trunk, searching for clothes. She finishes her conversation and pulls out a pair of black sweatpants, a simple gray T-shirt and a black hoodie. Stroking the soft material she resists the sudden urge to bring the clothes up to her face and breathe in the scent of him. The heady scent she could recognize anywhere after the few times she was close enough to inhale him.</p><p>And her heart flutters again at the thought of his body underneath her own, and the warmth of being held by him that she wishes she didn’t have to experience because now she knew how it felt.</p><p>Making her way upstairs to her bedroom, she pushes open the door and realizes she’s lost track of time while on the phone because Rio is already out of the shower, standing in the middle of her bedroom in nothing but a fluffy white towel wrapped low around his hips.</p><p>He turns slowly, his bottom lip hanging open for a moment as he takes her in lazily.</p><p>“Your clothes,” Beth’s standing as far away as possible as she extends her arm to pass them over, trying to be respectful and keep her eyes down and away. He takes a step forward and takes them from her, sliding his hand over hers in the process, stroking her fingers too firmly for it not to be deliberate. And Beth’s eyes snap up to his on their own accord. His face is still flushed from the shower, hair damp, and the wet spikes make her want to run her hand through them. Her breath catches.</p><p>He opens his mouth to say something, but again she interjects, “I’m going to leave you to it then.”</p><p>“Elizabeth…”</p><p>“I’ll make some tea for you while you get dressed. Gotta try out the new range.” She attempts a joking tone.</p><p>He bites his lip, considering her. “Sure.”</p><p>It takes all of her willpower to get out of there and down the stairs as fast as she can, still feeling his hand on hers where he’s touched her, the heat of his chest pressed against her earlier and the ghost of his fingers still gently stroking her cheek. How easy it would’ve been to let go for just a moment, let him touch her again, let him —</p><p><em>But no</em>. <em>Get it together Beth.</em> She takes a deep breath, squeezes her eyes shut and tries not to think of the man upstairs.</p><p>The thing is, she’s never been attracted to cheaters, no matter how good-looking. But there is something about the way Rio looks at her that makes her forget she isn’t the only woman in the world. Being in his orbit makes her feel like they are the only two people left on Earth.</p><p><em>But surely, he must do that with everyone</em>, she tells herself. He’s a natural flirt, and simply cannot help commanding the room, making everyone gravitate towards him. She’s seen it happen with everyone he meets. </p><p>Beth shakes her head. She really needs to schedule that second date with Bryan.</p><p>She puts the tea kettle on the stove and pulls out her phone, shooting a quick text. Bryan replies almost immediately and she can’t help the twinge of disappointment that settles in her stomach for a brief moment.</p><p>When Rio’s back downstairs she slides two steaming mugs on the table between them and turns their conversation towards work; asks him about the kitchen cupboards that were supposed to arrive, then about the living room furniture, and she manages to keep that up for several minutes.</p><p>Her phone pings then with another text from Bryan. Instead of replying she just replaces her phone on the table with the screen down. Taking a slow sip of his tea Rio follows her gesture over the rim of his mug, and she feels like he knows exactly who it’s from, like he can read it on her face.</p><p>He smacks his lips, puts the mug down. “You’re drinking tea.”</p><p>“Yes.” She says slowly, not sure what he means.</p><p>“But you don’t like tea.”</p><p>“Oh. Well, kind of.”</p><p>“But you’re drinkin’ it anyway.” His tone is teasing but, there’s something impatient behind his eyes.</p><p>“I made too much. What’s the big deal?”</p><p>He smiles, drains the rest of the drink from his mug and stands up to leave.</p><p>“I’ll be here tomorrow when the stuff arrives.” He glances back once more before he heads out.</p><p>And Beth tries to process what just happened. And did anything really happen? Not for the first time in his presence, she’s simply stumped.</p>
<hr/><p>
  
</p><p>Beth's backyard </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry for the slow updates. I couldn't find the time to do that last bit of editing until now.<br/>Thank you to everyone who's still reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Come on, before the moment's gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me just warn you that the bump in rating isn’t entirely of Brio variety and I apologize in advance.<br/>Pictures of the living and dining area at the bottom!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beth reapplies her lipstick, focuses on her reflection in the cloudy bathroom mirror as she slowly drags her forefinger above her right eye, wiping off a bit of the eyeliner that has smudged. </p><p>She’s a bit tipsy, more than a bit nervous, but she’s doing this. </p><p>Taking a big breath, she swings the door open and walks back through the crowd and towards the bar and her date.</p><p>“You wanna get out of here?”</p><p>Bryan nods energetically and they’re in an Uber the next minute. Or at least it seems that fast. She might be more than a little tipsy. </p><p>They kiss in the car and she palms him, bites her lip in a promise of what’s to come. </p><p>He seems taken aback at first but soon he reciprocates and as soon as the car parks in front of his building, they scurry out, Beth transferring too much of her weight onto Bryan, who staggers but tries to laugh it off. He punches in the code to his building as she nips at his ear, giggling. They make out in the elevator and once they’re upstairs and through the door they keep at it, not paying attention to their surrounding until Beth feels the back of her legs hit something — his bed. </p><p>She hears Bryan ask her to wait just a minute, mutters something about water, and disappears towards the kitchen. Beth lies down on the bed and stares at the lighting fixtures hanging from the tall ceiling, while her eyelids grow heavy.</p><p>--</p><p>First rays of sunlight wake her and she squints, trying to shield her eyes from the offending light. She still feels a bit drunk, her mouth is dry and she really needs to pee. Fumbling out of bed as quietly as she can, Beth's happy that she finds the bathroom behind the first door she tries. </p><p>Once inside she pauses to look at herself. </p><p>Her dress is still on, mostly. And she feels– well, she feels normal, so they definitely haven't had sex. And wow, she must have been much drunker than she thought. </p><p>She splashes her face with cold water, takes a long moment to stare at her reflection in the mirror before she repeats the action several times. </p><p>Feeling much better she steps out, debates sneaking out, but then she looks at Bryan’s sleeping form; thinks about how sweet he was last night, and how sure she was that she wanted to do this.</p><p>He shuffles as she slips back into bed but doesn’t wake. Beth slowly creeps her hand down his chest, and then his eyes flutter open just before her hand slips further.  He’s eying her expectantly, so she lets her hand slip lower. It’s a flurry of arms and legs then, and it’s kind of exciting but also awkward because she hasn’t really had to get used to someone new in such a long time. She couldn’t predict his movements, she didn’t know his body, he didn’t taste familiar, yet there was some familiarity in there as well. Something she couldn’t pinpoint, but she ascribed it to the fact that the act itself should be fairly familiar to her over the years. </p><p>The sex was definitely good. It didn’t feel as awkward and alien as she expected it to, this being the second person she’s ever slept with.</p><p>Beth takes a shower and they have a quick coffee before she has to head home. </p><p>She stops by one of her favorite places to pick up some breakfast pastry and tries to suppress her smile while she stands in line. She feels good. Finally. </p><p> </p><p>All these months, while everything else was coming along great, there was this part of her that was still bruised and raw. As much as she tried not to think about Dean and what he did, the memories still lingered, invading her thoughts whenever she let her mind wander for too long. And now she just might begin to heal. Giving Bryan another chance was a good call. He’s nothing like Dean, but he’s nothing like Rio either.  </p><p>She realizes now that the whole thing with Rio was all just a weird reaction to suddenly having someone’s full attention; being seen for the first time in years, maybe ever.</p><p>And he's <em>intense</em>, to say the least. It made her not think straight. These last few weeks around him seem like a fever dream now.</p><p>A dream she is lucky to be rid of. </p><p>Bryan gives her his full attention as well but doesn't rattle her, make her burn up under his gaze. He’s calm and safe — a perfect balance that her life needs. </p><p>So as she walks up to her house, Beth feels relieved to finally be able to put behind her that period of temporary insanity induced by her lack of a sex life and go back to regarding her interior designer with nothing but annoyance.   </p><p>Speaking of which, it’s barely eight o’clock, Beth notes while she gets through her front door, so there’s a fair chance that Rio isn’t —</p><p>“Hey, now.” </p><p>
  <em> And of course he's already there.  </em>
</p><p>He looks up from where he’s helping the guys put together some cabinets. And they must have done a lot of heavy lifting because the sleeves of his T-shirt are rolled up on his shoulders, revealing a tattoo of some big cat on his left one. There’s a shin of sweat covering the lean muscles of his arms, his neck, and a trail of it disappearing down his broad chest and under his shirt, painting it a darker shade of gray. </p><p>Beth gulps, tries to ignore the heat suddenly pooling low in her stomach.</p><p>“Hey. Brought coffee and breakfast.” She turns her back to him busying herself with the boxes she brought in, hoping he’ll drop any questions he might have.</p><p>“Long night?” His eyes rake over every inch of her exposed skin as he stalks towards her, and her body betrays her with a deep blush. </p><p>“Mmhmm,” she hums, taking a sip of her coffee.</p><p>Rio reaches around her to pick up a pastry from the box, deliberately leaning in too close, brushing the small of her back. “You had a good time?” </p><p>Giving up, she turns to face him. “Yeah, very good.” </p><p>He eyes her in that annoying way that he thinks is so charming, like he can see right through her. And it wouldn’t be as bad if he didn’t look the way he did right now. His skin all flushed and dewy with sweat. Lips plump and inviting, making her fingers itch to trace the dusting of stubble just below the pouty bottom one. </p><p>He smiles, hand settling on the table next to her. It barely brushes her hip on the way down, but her eyes still fly down. His thumb makes a few lazy circles on the wooden surface as he leans in to whisper in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. </p><p>“If you say so.”</p><p>And then he’s walking away backwards, biting into a pastry with a smirk, obviously satisfied with the elicited reaction. </p><p>She glares in return as she takes the rest of her bagel and coffee upstairs. She isn’t in the mood to stay and watch him parade his muscles around the place. </p><p>And why is he here doing this anyway? Half of this isn’t in his job description. </p><p>--</p><p>Beth knows she should sleep off the hangover that is in full swing now, so she can be good enough to go to work in the afternoon. But feeling too hot under the covers, she tosses and turns, her body possessed with some jittery energy and refusing to go to sleep. Flushed and restless she finally decides to fix herself a cup of chamomile tea to help her sleep. </p><p>
  <em> But you don't like tea. </em>
</p><p>Beth scoffs at the thought. </p><p>She tries to bypass the living area where Rio is and aims straight for the kitchen, but on her way there, leaning against the wall next to the staircase, she sees some god-awful green kitchen cabinet fronts. </p><p>Storming back into the living room she almost trips over her feet when she finds now shirtless Rio, wiping the sweat off his chest with his T-shirt. She takes a breath, not letting his state of undress shake her resolve.</p><p>"What is that?" she points in the direction of the offending pieces of furniture. </p><p>And she knows he's not in a playful mood anymore either, because he rolls his shoulders and meets her glare with one to match. </p><p>"What is <em> what </em>?" </p><p>"You know what I'm talking about. Those <em>things</em>. That's not what we've agreed on." </p><p>"Yeah, I'm aware." </p><p>"So what are you trying to pull?"</p><p>"'Scuse me?" His eyebrows furrow at the accusation, and she hears his crew behind him mention something about a break as they disappear towards the door. </p><p>"If you think you can just change things without even consulting me —" </p><p>He takes a step forward, getting in her space and forcing her to look up in order to hold his gaze. </p><p>She should've put on some shoes. </p><p>"What's this really about, sweetheart?" </p><p>Beth's about to tell him that it's about those ugly cabinet doors that he's going to return, but he shakes his head before she has a chance. </p><p>"And don't give me none of that crap, because you know I've honored every agreement on this project. You know those things aren't goin' into your kitchen." </p><p>"Then <em>why </em>do I see them in my <em>house </em>?" she bites out refusing to back down even though they're practically chest to chest now. </p><p>He stares her down a while longer before his eyes travel lower and his lips curl up into a smug smile. </p><p>"Can't sleep?"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>She follows his gaze down her body and realizes she's still wearing the pajamas she optimistically changed into hoping to get a few hours of sleep. </p><p>"Feelin' all restless and pent up? Mr. Perfect didn't tire you out, huh?" His voice lowered to those gravelly notes that shoot right down her spine and make her skin prickle all over. And damn him. </p><p>Beth glares a moment longer before she turns on her heel walking away from him, having already decided to send back the ugly fronts herself.</p><p>"Elizabeth." </p><p>She stops but doesn't turn. </p><p>"They had the wrong ones delivered by mistake. The guys only saw once they unwrapped them. It'll be sorted out by tomorrow." </p><p>Beth pauses, only nods once in his direction, and heads back upstairs, her tea long forgotten. </p><p>She gets dressed and slips out of the house through the back door, not wanting to run into him again. Getting to work early sounds like a good idea right now. </p><p>--</p><p> </p><p>She's glad to find the café busy, the hectic atmosphere helping her not think of anything else. </p><p>But once the end of their shift is around the corner and there are barely any customers, Gabby decides to start her interrogation. </p><p>“So…?”</p><p>And it’s not like Beth wasn’t expecting it, given that this was her and Bryan’s third date and she's already insinuated she had every intention of following through with the third date rule.  </p><p>“How was it?”</p><p>Beth puts on a sly smile and Gabby cackles. </p><p>“Girl…”</p><p>“And that’s all you need to know, okay.”</p><p>“No. Nuh-uh! Come on, I’ve been waiting for details ever since your first date.”</p><p>“I don’t kiss and tell.”</p><p>“Please, you’re way too intimately familiar with my marriage to play that card.”</p><p>Beth chuckles lightly at that. Gabby’s not exactly wrong.</p><p>“It was good. Can we leave it at that for now?”</p><p>“Sure.” Gabby sighs. “But you gotta give me something about him.”</p><p>Beth thinks for a moment before she remembers this bit of information he shared on their first date, even though confused by her asking: “He loves snickerdoodles.”</p><p>And Gabby snorts, then laughs. Then at Beth’s confused look: “Oh. You’re serious.”</p><p>“Yeah. Why?”</p><p>“No reason.”</p><p>“Oh my god, Gabby! Tell me, now.”</p><p>“Now hold on, don’t go crazy on me. Can’t say anything bad about snickerdoodles.”</p><p>“Tell me.” Beth demands. </p><p>“A perfect gentleman, sociable, everyone loves him, a bit too modest but in an adorable way..." She takes a moment to think of another quality to add, before she settles on "Perceptive."</p><p>Beth's sure there's something she's not telling her, but decides to let it go. “Okay, you’re freakishly good at this. But you’ve met him so that might count as cheating.”</p><p>“Oh please. Don’t you dare challenge the science behind cookie psychology.”</p><p>Beth chuckles at that as she stacks the empty trays away.</p><p>--</p><p>Waking up too early the next day to an empty house, she can't help but find it too still and quiet. She realizes how used she is to it filled with the chatter and hum of the people working. </p><p>She can't wait for this all to be over so the house is filled with the children's laughter instead. </p><p> </p><p>Rolling out of bed, Beth checks her phone to find two texts. </p><p>The first one is from Bryan.</p><p>
  <em> I’ve had a really good time with you the other night… and the following morning ;) Call me. </em>
</p><p>And the other from Rio. His crew has to do some last-minute fix on another project so they won’t be working today. The new fronts have arrived though, and he’ll stop by to put together the last of the kitchen cabinets. </p><p>She debates telling him that there’s no hurry, that she can wait for his crew. But she knows there’s no use, especially after the way they've left things yesterday. </p><p>She sighs deeply and slumps back into the pillows before her growling stomach and the idea of fresh coffee and cereal have her padding downstairs. </p><p>She opens the fridge to get the milk and spots a box of blueberries, pauses and, yeah, she could whip up some pancakes instead.</p><p> </p><p>She’s flipping the last of them when Rio saunters in, carrying coffee.</p><p>“Just in time.” She says not even turning to look at him as he leans against the counter next to her.</p><p>“You makin' me breakfast?”</p><p>Beth turns to roll her eyes. “I’m making myself breakfast and you get to eat it since you’re here.”</p><p>He chuckles. “A’ight.”</p><p>“Why are you here anyway? You know I wouldn’t mind waiting a day longer. This really doesn’t seem to be in your job description.”</p><p>“I said the kitchen would be done today, so it’s gettin' done.” He shrugs. </p><p>Beth rolls her eyes again as she sets their plates on the kitchen isle. She must admit that as annoying as he is, he's always kept his word when it came to work and took it seriously. </p><p>She watches Rio stack his pancakes, adding extra blueberries and greek yogurt. She takes hers with maple syrup.</p><p>“You want a bite, all you have to do is ask.” He smirks not looking up from his plate.</p><p>And god, she was staring, wasn’t she. </p><p>It’s just that she’s got so used to these mornings where they have breakfast and coffee together. She keeps trying to figure out why it always seems so weirdly familiar, comfortable even, as if they’ve done it a hundred times before. </p><p>“I’m good.” Beth turns her attention to her own plate as Rio huffs out a laugh. </p><p> </p><p>After breakfast, she leaves him to his work and decides to catch up on some paperwork in her office. </p><p>It’s been about an hour when he knocks on the door. </p><p>“Come check it out.”</p><p>It was Rio’s idea to use cabinets in a similar design and color scheme to the ones at her cake shop-slash-café. He suggested it after he first went there, and she was happy to agree and change the original idea since this one seemed more like her style.</p><p>And now with all of the cupboards in place, along with the <em>right </em>fronts and handles attached to them, it looks great. </p><p>And right, she should perhaps apologize for the way she acted yesterday. </p><p>“I love it.” She beams, and he seems pleased as well. </p><p>"Listen, about yesterday…" she pauses and clears her throat, but his clear brown eyes are trained on her, waiting. </p><p>She was hoping she could leave it at that, but of course, he won't let her off the hook; wants to hear her say it. </p><p>"...I'm sorry."</p><p>His lips tug up imperceptibly, but he's still not saying anything. </p><p>What more does he want?</p><p>"It's not that I don't tr—" she sighs. "I don't think you would do something like that without consulting me."</p><p>And she means it. </p><p>Had she paused and taken a breath she would've realized there was probably a reasonable explanation. But then there he was, standing there all… smug and <em>shirtless </em> (not that it mattered, since she was over <em>that </em>). He was just being his usual self, and she let him get under her skin.</p><p>A small smile dances across his features. "That's good." </p><p>Rio strokes her shoulder as he walks around her on his way out. "Thanks for the breakfast, yeah." </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>The next week is hectic. She works, she sees the kids, she goes home. </p><p>Bryan has been busy during the week as well, so they finally schedule their date for Saturday. He invited her over to his place for dinner this time, and as she takes the elevator to his flat, she’s a bit nervous. </p><p>Beth hasn’t been at this stage of a relationship — well, ever. She and Dean got together in high school and had most of their initial dates behind the bleachers or the back of his car. It just feels so different to do all of these firsts as an adult. </p><p>She takes a deep breath before she knocks, and Bryan’s face breaks into a huge grin as he swings the door open, gesturing for her to come in. </p><p>She is about to walk by him when his hand finds the small of her back and he pulls her in for a kiss. And right, that’s a thing they do now. Beth steps away after a minute, just as he was about to deepen the kiss.</p><p>“Pour a girl a drink first.” She jokes, and he chuckles. </p><p>“Right, sorry. Where are my manners?” </p><p>He leads her to sit on the couch, and she sees the table already set for two in the dining area. The smell of lasagna in the oven reaches her from the kitchen, and she smiles as Bryan pours her a glass of wine. </p><p>They clink their glasses together and she's still smiling at him over the rim of hers as she takes a sip.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Nothing. It’s just… no one’s cooked for me in a long time.”</p><p>“Well, I’m honored then. But please don’t expect too much. Lasagna is one of three dishes I can cook, and it’s not perfect.”</p><p>“I’m sure it’s delicious.” </p><p>He looks like he might kiss her again, so she quickly looks towards the kitchen. “Do you need help with the salad?”</p><p>“No, already taken care of. Just sit back and relax.” And as he’s inching forward again, Beth takes another quick sip of wine before he pulls her in for a kiss.</p><p>It’s strange now that they’re sober she realizes. She’s pretty sure she was still half-drunk and half-hungover when they had sex the other morning. It all felt like a  dream. A good one, but a dream nonetheless. And she didn't know how to do this again now. </p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Your mind seems to be somewhere else.”</p><p>“Oh. I’ve just had a lot on my plate this week.”</p><p>“Me too. But,” his lips hover near hers again, “the whole idea of tonight is to forget about all that.”</p><p>And then she’s saved by the oven timer. Bryan looks at her for a moment longer before he smiles and goes to pull out the lasagna.</p><p><em>What is wrong with you?</em> <em>Get it together!</em> Beth yells at herself as she tops off their glasses and heads towards the dining table.</p><p>A few more glasses of wine later she feels much better. Bryan can actually make a decent lasagna, and the conversation starts flowing now that there’s a table between them and he’s not trying to kiss her anymore.</p><p>Some time later when they open the second bottle and move back to the couch she's feeling much calmer. They talk for a while longer, and then she’s the one who kisses him. They make out for a while before she unbuttons his pants and straddles him. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Beth turns in her bed without opening her eyes yet, and she smiles, stretching a little, woken up by the well l-familiar murmur of the crew working downstairs. </p><p>“Mornin’.”</p><p>Her eyes snap open and she blinks a few times trying to focus on the sight in front of her - Rio leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face.</p><p>“What the hell…?”</p><p>He pouts, points his thumb behind him. </p><p>“Yeah, I was just walking by, workin’. You should really remember to close your door at night. You know, when you got a bunch of people walkin' around your house.” He stares at her pointedly. </p><p>And is he seriously lecturing her right now? </p><p>Beth straightens up in bed. “Noted. Now could you please…?”</p><p>“Sure…” His eyes dip down from her face for a moment and he licks his lips as he walks off with a smirk, not bothering to close the door behind him. Beth looks down to see a few too many buttons of her pajama top are undone. She jumps out of the bed and slams the door shut before she heads for a shower. </p><p>When her growling stomach compels her to the kitchen Rio’s there having his coffee, leaning against the counter perched up on his stool, his ass barely in the seat. </p><p>She smiles to herself as she walks around him. She’s never seen him use a piece of furniture properly. </p><p>And as she pours herself a cup he pushes a paper bag towards her.</p><p>“What are we having today?”</p><p> She fishes out a Danish out of the bag and almost moans as she takes a bite. She’s so hungry.</p><p>Leaning against the kitchen aisle across from him, she takes another bite. “This is so good.” </p><p>“Not as good as those cakes of yours. You know I’m gonna have to keep drivin’ across town to get the kid your cupcakes, right?”</p><p>Beth laughs. “That’s your fault.”</p><p>And he stares at her for a moment before he shakes his head with a smile, “Yeah, I guess it is.”</p><p>He watches her crunch up the empty paper-bag and he follows the gesture, licks his lips like he’s deep in thought, and she knows him well enough by now to know there must be a question coming. </p><p>“We’re all done with the furniture downstairs, and I’m guessing we'll finish up the kids’ rooms by the end of the week.”</p><p>“Great.” Beth beams. “It’s really taken longer than either of us expected, huh?” </p><p>He pauses. “Yeah.” </p><p>He doesn’t ask whatever question he was meaning to or say anything else, just looks at her, so she diverts her gaze to the empty cups, collects them, and brings them to the sink just to have something to do.</p><p>“You know, I was thinking… I might make a big dinner for the guys once it’s all done. As a thank you. ”</p><p>He huffs out a laugh. “You ain't gotta do that. It’s their job.”</p><p>“I know. I just thought it’d be nice. So, I was thinking Friday?” </p><p>“Sure. Am I invited?”</p><p>“I guess you can come.” She rolls her eyes mockingly.</p><p>“Cool.” He nods with a small smirk before he saunters out of the kitchen. </p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>It’s Wednesday when Beth finally texts Bryan. She’s been putting it off, too busy with work and the house to think about anything else. </p><p>And now that she had most of the furniture and a functioning kitchen, she really had no excuse for never inviting him over. So he's coming to dinner.</p><p>Beth decides to take a long shower and relax while the food’s in the oven. She's had a long day at work that she just can't wait to wash off. </p><p>As soon as she steps under the steady stream of the soothing warm water Beth can feel the tension in her muscles slowly release, and relishes in the way the water pressure eases the knots in her shoulders. </p><p>Her thoughts wander until she settles on replaying the other night with Bryan and her hand slides down her chest, gives her alert nipples a few tugs before it slips lower. Her fingers find her slippery folds and it's not long until a delicious pressure is building. </p><p>She tries to focus on the way he kissed her, and that thing he did with his tongue when he slipped between her thighs; that one thing she liked a lot. No, that's not it. Maybe that time she rode him on the couch? But no, that's not doing it either. </p><p>She needs just a little bit more. </p><p>Then another thought's forming before she gave it permission, ripping free and finding justification for the indulgence, <em> just this once</em>. </p><p><em> He's </em>stepping under the water, pulling her into an open-mouthed kiss before he's pinning her against the tiles, his mouth wandering down to explore her tits hungrily, sucking each nipple into his mouth. She can feel him hot and hard against her stomach, making her back arch chasing the friction,  </p><p>His large hands grip her by the hips, fingers digging into her soft flesh as he drops to his knees and tugs her forward. His hot tongue finds her needy cunt with a low growl, sending electric shocks through her core. His dark eyes bore into her blue ones as he licks into her relentlessly. And then she's — oh. </p><p><em> Oh</em>.</p><p>Beth rests back on the tiles trying to get her breathing back to normal and her legs to work again. </p><p>
  <em> Fuck.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -- </em>
</p><p>Bryan will be there any minute. </p><p>She busies herself with the napkins and cutlery, trying hard to keep herself from dwelling on her little fantasy. She didn't need to unwrap it. Didn't need to know why the thought of a very <em>real </em>moment with her date didn't do it for her. Why her mind decided to substitute it with <em>him</em>. </p><p>She just needs a glass of wine to take the edge off and put the whole thing out of her mind. </p><p>The food must be done as well, so she goes to the kitchen to check on it. </p><p>Beth didn’t want to overshadow Bryan's lasagna, so she threw together a simple chicken vegetable casserole. </p><p>Just as she pulls it out to cool, the doorbell rings. She opens the door, leaning against the doorframe mock-seductively and Bryan smiles as he steps in and kisses her.</p><p>“I’ve been looking forward to this all week.” He says against her lips.</p><p>Beth’s eyes shoot open and she scrambles for something to say back, but he quickly saves her. “What’s for dinner? It smells nice.”</p><p>“Chicken casserole,” she says, following him inside. </p><p>They settle at the dining table, eat and have more than a few glasses of wine when Beth starts flirting. Bryan continues talking as if he hasn’t noticed, and she tries harder but he still seems oblivious. So she takes their empty plates to the kitchen and comes back to stand behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, nibble at his ear as she slides her hands lower —</p><p>“Beth?”</p><p>“Yes, Bryan?” she whispers against his ear.</p><p>“I think we need to talk.”</p><p>“Oh?” </p><p>Beth’s never been broken up with before but she's watched enough movies to know what that sentence means.</p><p>“See, I’ve been trying to ignore it, thinking you must be worried about getting back out there what with your divorce and...”</p><p>Beth nods for him to continue.</p><p>“But you do realize that we’ve never had sex sober? You don’t seem to want me around until you… well, until you do. And I’m all for this casual thing, believe me, but…”</p><p>“Go on.”</p><p>“Well, when we’re having sex I feel like — I mean it’s great. You’re great.” He pauses, sighs. Seems to think carefully about the next thing he's going to say. “I feel like you aren’t really there with me.”</p><p>Beth watches him as he tries to look anywhere else, but ends up looking her straight in the eye finally.</p><p>“So what are you saying?”</p><p>“I don’t quite know. If you can tell me I’m wrong, I’m willing to try and work on it because honestly, I like you a lot Beth, and—”</p><p>And she suddenly feels sick and more than a little disappointed with herself as she watches him try to find reasons to work on a relationship she hasn’t even given a moment’s thought to. </p><p>“You’re not wrong.” She cuts him off. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>He looks at her, a bit surprised. He knew the answer but was still hoping for a different one, it seems. </p><p>“Well. Thank you for your honesty.” </p><p>And she winces. Because she hasn’t been honest, not really. Had he not said anything she would’ve let this go on without even realizing what she was doing to him. </p><p>“Thank you for yours.” She says with a small smile, swallowing the lump in her throat. </p><p>They part awkwardly, and she polishes off the rest of the bottle while doing the dishes to distract herself. When she finally crawls into bed, Beth puts a pillow over her head hoping it would muffle the thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>  ***</p><p>Sat on the steps in the garden, she’s tapping her fingers absentmindedly against the coffee mug in her hands. She woke up too early, barely even slept with the thoughts swirling in her head.</p><p>The backdoor creaks open and she doesn't have to look up to know that it's him. </p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>“Morning.”</p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, kind of.”</p><p>“Mr. Perfect do something?”</p><p>She rolls her eyes at the nickname, “Not really." And after a pause adds with a scoff, "But that’s over.” </p><p>He takes her in for a long moment. “Wanna talk about it?”</p><p> Beth sighs, considering. Unsure if she wants to, or that she can even explain what exactly is bothering her. </p><p>“Do you smoke?” </p><p>“No. You?” He drops to sit next to her on the steps.</p><p>“No.” She takes a sip of her coffee and he takes a sip of his, patiently waiting for her to go on. </p><p>“But do you ever have one of those days when you feel like you need a cigarette? Like you need to—” She stops, looking for the right words.</p><p>“Press pause? Reset?”</p><p>Beth looks at him for the first time since he showed up. “Yeah.”</p><p>Rio stares ahead, hums, takes another sip. “Yeah. I know the feelin’. And you should listen to it. Don’t do nothin’ only 'cos you think that’s what you should be doin’.”</p><p>“I wish it were that easy.”</p><p>“It is that easy, darlin’. You can’t do it all at once, and you can’t do it all by yourself.”</p><p>She nods, lets the silence wash over her for another long moment.</p><p>It was one of those days. Her mind's been going over all the wrong steps she's taken. And then the ones she should've, but didn't. </p><p>“You know, when I first decided to start my business, I had a plan."</p><p>Rio takes her in, waits for her to go on. </p><p>"I was gonna get a business degree; then maybe open a few more locations down the line, set up a delivery system, expand the business so we can handle catering big events.”</p><p>“So why didn’t you?” </p><p>“I got too busy. And now with the work, and kids… I don’t have the time.”</p><p>“So make the time. You’re the boss, remember?”</p><p>Beth scoffs. </p><p>He leans and bumps their shoulders together and she smiles. They sit in silence for a few more minutes. </p><p>“I gotta go help the guys. You sure good here?”</p><p>She nods.</p><p>Rio brushes his hand up her arm and squeezes her shoulder as he gets up to leave, throwing one last glance back at her as he disappears through the back door. </p><p> </p><p> She didn’t expect that ending things with Bryan would shake her up as much as it did. It wasn’t even about him, really, but the fact that it confirmed what she already knew, as much as she tried to deny it: she wasn’t ready for a new relationship.</p><p>Dating was a mistake and she should’ve listened to her instincts instead of piling more onto her already overflowing plate.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Beth took a day off and she's been cooking for the party all day Friday. She couldn’t decide on the dish so she made Buffalo chicken enchiladas, shrimp tomato spinach linguine, pot roast, three different salads, and a chocolate cherry cake.</p><p>She was just beginning to stress that there weren't enough appetizers when Rio arrived, rounding the counter with his eyebrows raised.</p><p>“<em>Damn</em>, darlin’." he dragged out the words in mock shock. "You cookin’ for an army, or what?”</p><p>“Your guys eat a lot, and I had no idea what everyone likes, so I made a bit of everything.”</p><p>He hums and tries to steal some appetizers off the plate before she slaps his hand away and he laughs, eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. </p><p>“Oh, so you that lady, huh?”</p><p>“So what if I am?” </p><p>With a chuckle, she raises her chin in challenge, and he takes a step towards her, and another, and then they’re chest to chest. </p><p>When she doesn't back away, his little finger slowly traces a path from her forehead, down her cheek, and her eyes settle on his lips, the corners quirked up into a small smile before they part and he's leaning forward (or is that her?). Her own lips part on their own accord and she's breathing him in, so close she can almost taste the scent that is so uniquely him. </p><p>A loud crash in the living room that makes Beth jump back, the moment suddenly broken. Rio stares at her a moment longer before he reluctantly goes to check what's happened. </p><p>Turns out one of the guys knocked over a ladder that had a box full of tools and bolts on its top step.</p><p>Beth exhales, thankful for this well-timed save. </p><p> </p><p>--</p><p>The dinner goes fine. Rio sits on the far end of the table and chats with the guys. She enjoys watching them laugh, and joke like one big family, and not a boss and his employees. She finds that she really admires how much they not only respect, but also <em>like </em>him. </p><p>Whenever he laughs Beth can’t help but glance his way and catches him staring more than a few times as well. It’s ridiculous the way her stomach does a backflip each time their eyes meet across the table. </p><p>So she tries her best to stop her eyes from darting in his direction and instead focuses on Dags who's telling her about his new dog. </p><p> </p><p>As the dinner winds down, she slips out to take some dishes back to the kitchen. It doesn’t even surprise her to hear footsteps approaching, but she busies herself cleaning the food off the plates. </p><p>She doesn’t want to turn around and face him just yet. A feeling that some line has been crossed tonight hasn’t left her ever since he touched her face and just grew stronger with every stolen glance.</p><p>He knows she’s heard him but gives her a minute longer before he speaks. </p><p>“Elizabeth.”</p><p>“Why do you call me that?” Her tone is clipped. </p><p>She hates that her name sounds like a weapon on his lips, intent on disarming her, undoing all her efforts. </p><p>“It’s your name.” </p><p>“Still, no one calls me that, as I’m sure you’re aware of by now.”</p><p>“Well, I <em> do</em>. You mind?” </p><p>She pauses, mulling over the next thing to say. </p><p>“It’s just not me.” </p><p>“Or maybe you never allowed it to be?” </p><p>She grips the plate in her hands harder, trying to resist the urge to yell at him that he doesn’t know her, that he should stop assuming things about her. </p><p>But the funny thing is, ever since he started calling her that she’s felt more like Elizabeth and less and less like Beth (whatever that meant). </p><p>When she still doesn’t say anything, Rio sighs and takes a step towards her, “You overthinkin' it.” </p><p>Beth scoffs.</p><p>She hears him approach, and finally turns around as he stops on his way to swipe some chocolate frosting off the cake she's just set on the table, and plop it in his mouth. </p><p>He saunters over until they’re toe to toe, and she resists the urge to lean back against the counter and reveal that his nearness affects her as much as it does. </p><p>“So, where were we…” He drawls and slowly leans in, eyes dark as his gaze dips down to her lips. She can smell the chocolate on his breath, and damn him for always making it this difficult for her.</p><p>And Beth, she — </p><p>“What’s your favorite cookie?” </p><p>“What?” Rio pauses, his voice gruff. He’s so close she feels his breath tickle her lips as he speaks.</p><p>“Your favorite cookie?”</p><p>“Yeah, I'm not really much of a  cookie guy.” He smirks, “Prefer to go straight for the cake.” His eyes fleet up from her lips to stare her down in challenge, waiting. </p><p>She knows he’s letting her decide if she wants to lean in those few inches further. </p><p>Beth holds her breath and blinks, trying to break whatever spell her body's under when he's this close. She slips to the side and turns away. “I have to go see if anyone needs more drinks.”</p><p>“Elizabeth…”</p><p>“Don’t. follow me.”</p><p> </p><p>Rio slips out during the evening nodding a quiet goodbye.</p><p>As the evening comes to an end the guys help her clean up the rest of the mess before they head out as well. Mick and Dags even wash the dishes. She tries to shoo them out but they insist those were the boss's orders. </p><p> </p><p>--</p><p>Replaying last night all throughout her shift the next day, Beth alternates between being completely lost in the memory of his lips so close to hers, his eyes burning holes in her armor, and a stronger emotion, anger — at him, and at herself for not telling him he should be ashamed for trying what he did last night.</p><p>Who does he think he is? And does he take her for a homewrecker? She should’ve told him that instead of getting all flustered around him. </p><p>She <em>will </em>tell him that if he tries anything again, she decides. But knowing today’s their last day, she probably won’t have to. </p><p>Perhaps she won't even have to see him again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know I'm very late with this chapter! It's also quite long compared to the previous ones since I've decided to merge two chapters and get Bryan out of the way sooner. I can't say I'm particularly happy with this one but I've decided to stop fiddling with it and post it.<br/>The next one is more Beth/Rio, ehem, centric and it will be up very soon.<br/>As usual, looking forward to your questions, notes, comments!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Went to your house (walked up the stairs)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The crew's loading their equipment into the van as Beth pulls up. She goes inside to find Mick carrying out a box of their stuff.</p><p>“Hi. You guys leaving?”</p><p>“Yeah. all done here. Oh, and the guys wanted me to thank you again for the dinner last night.”</p><p>“No problem." Beth smiles warmly and hesitates before she finally asks, "So, where’s the chief?”</p><p>Mick scratches the back of his head looking a bit uncomfortable. “We have another project starting next week, so he has a meeting with them today. Some hotshot singer. He couldn’t reschedule."</p><p>And then quickly adds "Said to give you his best, though.” Which, Rio probably didn't. </p><p>Beth swallows, her throat drying up. “Oh. Well, thank you, Mick.”</p><p>He just nods and she follows him out, watches as they load the rest of the stuff and wave goodbye before driving off.</p><p>Beth goes back inside. Tries to ignore the prickly feeling settling in her stomach. </p><p>This is what she wanted —for her to resist him, and for him to leave and stop plaguing her. </p><p>She did almost sabotage her efforts last minute with that impromptu dinner. He was talking about the project being done, those big brown eyes settled on her all the while, and the reality hit her — she won't see him again after this week. He seemed about to say more, ask a question, but it never came, and then the next thing she knew she was blindsiding herself with a dinner party on the shortest notice ever. </p><p>Beth groans internally. She just couldn't figure out what it was about him that made her lose all common sense. She's never felt that way about someone before. She hopes she never does again. </p><p>So yes, it all worked out for the best, she repeats to herself as she goes around the house and looks at the rooms now that all the work is done. </p><p>They brought in the last of the furniture and decorations for the kids’ rooms today. She goes into each one and smiles looking at the carefully picked out decor. </p><p>There are bunnies in Emma’s room. Beth remembers her talking Rio's ear off about her favorite plush bunny Carl. There are many pink details as well because that's been her favorite color ever since she buried her chubby baby fingers in the pink dubby Beth had knitted for her and let out an excited little squeak at how soft it was. She's never let that thing out of her sight since. </p><p>In Danny’s room, the walls are painted blue for the ocean, and she notices a few books on marine life added to his bookshelf because that is his new interest. In the corner near the window, there's an armchair with a shark print. He’s been talking about Jaws ever since Dean took him to see the movie last year. </p><p>Rio has also respected Kenny’s request for less of a “kid’s room”, and opted for simple decor and shelves with his hockey trophies. Her heart clenches as she sees he even remembered Kenny's jersey number, a large white plate with a red number 32 on the shelf nearest his bed. Beth rolls her eyes looking at the painted walls, remembering how Rio convinced her to let him paint them black (as per Kenny’s wishes), though he did choose the lightest shade, almost gray. </p><p>Rio's argument was that granting a trying request here and there would postpone Kenny's rebel phase because giving him nothing to rebel about takes all the fun out of it. Though they immediately agreed that it would only postpone it for a little while. </p><p>Beth smiles remembering how pensive Rio got then. Guessing correctly that he was already worrying about Marcus when he got to that age, she joked that she couldn't imagine Marcus going through any phase that would make him any less polite. Rio guffawed. Told her not to let his innocent face fool her because Marcus looks and acts exactly like <em>he </em>did at his age. A warm fluttery feeling warms up in her chest at that memory. </p><p>She sighs, moving on to the next room. </p><p>There is a lion poster and several toys in Jane’s room because of her obsession with the large cats. Her bed frame is shaped like a tent, with the canopy above, since Jane is also in her fort-building phase. A treasure chest for her toys because of her love of pirate stories that she and Emma like to re-enact. </p><p>And Beth realizes all this time when she thought Rio just spoke with the kids to keep them entertained and out of the crew's way, he was actually paying attention.</p><p>She can't help the sinking pang of sadness at the way she and Rio parted ways. She should’ve at least thanked him in person.</p><p> </p><p>A sound downstairs snaps her out of her thoughts. </p><p>The workers have all left. She saw them leave. And she’s not expecting anyone either.  Beth quickly and quietly pads back to Kenny’s room, grabs a hockey stick, and tiptoes down the stairs.</p><p>The sound is coming from the dining area. Footsteps followed by a jangle of keys. She rounds the corner with her stick in the air, ready to strike —</p><p>“Hey, easy there champ.” Hearing his voice, and that familiar amused chuckle makes her sigh in relief. </p><p>“What the hell are you doing here?”</p><p>“Came to return the last set of keys. Forgot to give them to Mick earlier.” He dangles the keys he’s holding before he drops them on the table demonstratively.</p><p>“And you couldn’t knock?”</p><p>“Yeah, my bad, it's just a habit. Been lettin' myself in and out of the place for weeks.” He shrugs. “You wanna put the stick down?”</p><p>Beth realizes she’s still holding the thing above her head, and she slowly lowers her arms and sets the stick down against the wall.</p><p>“I thought you had an important meeting with a new client.”</p><p>“I did.” He nods, jutting out his lip as he plays with a trinket on the shelving unit separating the living and dining area.</p><p>Beth takes the chance as he’s not looking at her to recompose and start again, reminding herself that she really wanted to thank him earlier. </p><p>She clears her throat. Tries the politest tone she can muster with him. </p><p>“So, I’m actually glad you’re here. I wanted a chance to thank you in person for all you’ve done. I’m very happy with the place and will give you guys a glowing recommendation—”</p><p>“Yeah… don’t use that voice with me. Doesn’t work.”</p><p>“What voice?”</p><p>“The one you use with your customers, dance moms, and that dumbass ex-husband of yours.”</p><p>And what the hell is his problem? Whenever she tries to be polite he immediately makes her regret it. </p><p>"That <em> is </em> my voice." She says pointedly. </p><p>"Nah, it's not." He deadpans. </p><p>“If you came here to psychoanalyze me again, I’m gonna stop you right now. I’m not one of your houses that needs fixing.” She’s snarling now, but as usual with him, she can’t help it.</p><p>“There she is.” His grin splits his face in two. </p><p>“You don’t know me.”</p><p>“I think I do.” He sucks in his lip in amusement as he takes a step towards her. </p><p> </p><p>And Beth can’t believe he’s doing this again, just as she thought they could part on good terms. </p><p>“You know what? Thank you for your services, but I think I speak for the both of us when I say I <em> don't </em> hope for any future cooperation.”</p><p>“You wanna know what I think?” He takes another step towards her. </p><p>“Not really.” She shoots back immediately.</p><p>He smirks, licks his lips before he goes on. “I think you're too afraid to go after what you want."</p><p>"Please." Beth scoffs. He's too close now but she stands her ground, then takes a step towards him, playing his game for a change. "What is it that you think I want?" </p><p>"Right this moment?" His voice dips dangerously low as he takes the final step separating them, and she curses herself for letting her eyes fly to his lips. </p><p>It was exactly the desired effect because his grin widens before he continues. </p><p>"You wanna kiss me." </p><p>And —</p><p><em> What</em>? </p><p>“Why on earth would I want to do that?”</p><p>“'Cos you keep looking at me like that.”</p><p>“Like what?” She scoffs.  “Actually, never mind — how dare you? I don’t go around kissing married men. And <em> certainly </em> not <em> you </em>.”</p><p>He looks confused for the first time since she’s met him. And it’s... an interesting look on him. </p><p>“Now, hold on a sec.” He pauses to blink and narrow his eyes in confusion. “Who’s married?”</p><p>“You are.”</p><p>“And what in hell gave you that impression?”</p><p>She flails her hands awkwardly pointing to his hands, “The ring, your son, and more obviously  —  your wife.”</p><p>He blinks, shakes his head as if he's trying to make sense of her before he's back to his signature complacent look. </p><p>“The rings – just <em> jewelry </em>.” He says the words slowly, pointing at the said rings as if he’s explaining a new term to a child and she really wants to smack him. </p><p>Then she notices the one that she thought looked like a wedding band is not there, and there's another ring in its place – a big gold ring encasing a midnight blue stone. </p><p>How long has the other one been gone? Has he been switching them around this whole time? How has she not noticed? </p><p>“And yeah, I have a kid, but last I checked you got four of ‘em and seem fairly familiar with the concept of divorce.” </p><p>“You have Sunday dinners with your ex?" The words are out before she can stop them and his grin grows wider if that's even possible. She doesn't see how any of this is amusing to him. </p><p>“Yeah, once every few weeks, with our lil' man. There ain’t no bad blood between us.” He shrugs.</p><p>Beth takes a steadying breath, trying to process it all. Put everything into perspective. </p><p>It all makes sense now; the way he openly flirts with everyone, stays working late when he doesn't have to, or even orders takeout with her as if no one's waiting for him at home to have dinner with. And now she has no idea how the thought never even crossed her mind.  </p><p>The problem is, as she realizes, she really does want to. </p><p>Kiss him, that is. </p><p>And as this new reality sets in, she realizes that he's right here in front of her and there's nothing really stopping them anymore. </p><p>But she can't. She just <em>can't</em>.</p><p>Married or not, she shouldn't be entertaining the thoughts suddenly swarming in her mind. If Bryan was a mistake, Rio would be a catastrophe.</p><p> </p><p>“Elizabeth,” Her name rolling off his tongue stops her mind from reeling, as it always does. Makes her focus on him until he’s all she sees. She hates it.</p><p><em> “What do you want?” </em> He says each word slowly and she is beyond annoyed with him repeating that question.</p><p> “I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”</p><p>“No. Nuh-uh. None of that. Tell me what you want?” He repeats again, and something in his eyes tells her he’s done playing.</p><p>She shakes her head, looks away. She can’t. She won’t make herself vulnerable in front of him like that.</p><p>He seems to see something in her face that makes him realize it as well and he sighs, prepares to leave.</p><p>“A’ight.” He nods slowly and juts out his bottom lip. “Well, then. I guess not answering the question is an answer as well, huh?” A small wistful smile on his lips as he echoes the words.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I know what I want just fine, thank you very much. However, I don’t see how answering these questions helps with decorating my home.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “It’s all part of my process sweetheart, but don’t sweat it. Not answerin’ the questions is kinda an answer as well. Know what I mean?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And just how much has changed since that day when they stood in this very room. If someone told her then that she would feel the way she does about this man — this stubborn, infuriating man that keeps challenging the things she believes — well, she would’ve told them they were crazy.</p><p>“Goodbye, Elizabeth.” He adds breaking again the silence so contrasting to her racing thoughts.</p><p>Beth can feel her heart beating out of her chest, a lump forming in her throat and it’s getting harder and harder to breathe around it. He's halfway to the door when she speaks.</p><p>“You.”</p><p>Her answer surprises both of them but Rio slowly turns to look at her, recomposing in an instant. She just hates how he does it with such ease.</p><p>“I want you.” She repeats with more confidence, squaring her shoulders. </p><p>He’s amused but there's more to his now heated gaze. A challenge. </p><p>“Yeah? So whatchu gonna do about it?” He juts out his chin, daring her.</p><p>She’s silent for a beat, before taking a step towards him, and then another, closing the distance so quickly she surprises herself, but not him apparently because his mouth opens immediately when it crashes against hers, and then she finally latches onto his bottom lip, sucking it into her mouth hungrily. He licks into her mouth in response, lips locking in a devouring kiss.</p><p>She pulls away for air, half-expecting to see that smug smirk on his face. But when she opens her eyes to gauge his reaction all she sees is that same hunger. His lips are parted, pupils blown, and he groans as he threads his fingers through her soft locks and pulls her back in, deepening the kiss as if he’s worried she’s going to change her mind if he doesn’t act quickly enough, show her that he wants this as badly as she does. Not that she has any such worries anymore; all of her senses overwhelmed by him. She's breathing him in, consumed by the taste of his lips, the warmth of his large hands as they slip under the hem of her shirt and find her bare back. </p><p>Beth has no idea how they’ve ended up on the couch, her in his lap. She doesn't remember walking there. She’s so wrapped up in him she’d have trouble repeating her own damn name.</p><p>Undressing each other, they're hissing and groaning at any hindrance in their rush; when his sleeve gets caught on his ring as he shakes off his shirt; when he just can’t seem to get hers off quickly enough. As soon as the offending article of clothing is discarded, both are chasing the other’s lips, each second they’re not kissing too long. </p><p>And his hands — his hands seem to be everywhere. He’s palming at her breasts admiringly, kneading at her hips and raking over her back with his long fingers as if he’s trying to memorize every inch of her. She’s exploring his smooth hard lines in much the same way and — has it ever felt this good touching and being touched by someone? </p><p>For the longest time, they just stay like that, touching and kissing and nipping at each other’s skin, and he doesn’t seem to mind if it just continues indefinitely, but she suddenly needs <em>more</em>.  </p><p>As if the thought travels straight to his mind, he shortly breaks their kiss to ask again, “<em> What do you want? </em>”</p><p>“You.” She repeats, moving to trail kisses down his jaw and nibble at his ear and he lets out a sound that goes straight to her center. </p><p>“I’m gonna need you to be more specific this time, mama.” He adds, his voice completely wrecked. </p><p>“I want you to touch me.”</p><p>“I <em> am </em> touching you.”</p><p>She lets out a frustrated moan, and he chuckles against her neck, refusing to give her more even though he knows exactly what she wants.</p><p>“I want your fingers. “ But she knows it’s <em>still </em>not specific enough for him. “Need them inside me. Now, Rio. Please.”</p><p>And the words are barely out of her mouth when her panties are pushed aside, his long fingers exploring her folds. He lets out a groan against her throat when he finds her already soaking wet.</p><p>“Mmm, so wet for me, darlin’. Are you this wet when we fight? When you glare at me and tell me how angry I make you?”</p><p>And she realizes that, yes. Despite herself, it does thrill her. </p><p>He curls his fingers unexpectedly and she can’t contain a long moan. </p><p>“Huh?” He demands his answer.</p><p>“Maybe.” She hisses barely able to keep her voice steady.</p><p>Rio hums, satisfied. “Yeah. I was half-hard just walking through the door, knowing I was gonna get you all riled up and clicking your heels around the room”, he pauses to mouth at her nipple, “these perfect tits bouncing while you wave around, explaining why I can’t do the shit I so wanted to do.” </p><p>“You’re infuriating,” She says between moans and he chuckles against her sensitive skin, the vibration and his stubble sending shockwaves through her, making her head swim.</p><p>“Yeah, and you like it.” He drawls. </p><p>“No, I find it irritating.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? You want me to stop then? Be perfectly <em> decent </em>.”</p><p>And she hates that she realizes that, no, she doesn’t.</p><p>“I want you to shut up.” </p><p>He chuckles easily. </p><p>“What else you want?” He doesn’t stop his ministrations but increases the pressure on her clit and curls his fingers inside her with each thrust.</p><p>And Beth’s never been into talking in bed. It always felt too awkward, but he makes it seem like the sexiest thing in the world.</p><p>“I want you inside me.”</p><p>And she feels him twitch under her at the words, impossibly hard. She reaches for him but he stops her.</p><p>“Nuh, I need you to do one thing for me first.” He twists his wrist a little, flicks his thumb over her clit.</p><p>And she clenches around his fingers, realizing she is really close to doing just what he asked. Rio hums in approval as he pumps three fingers in and out of her, and she moves to bite at his shoulder as the delicious warmth spreads through her, her muscles start spasming and she’s writhing in his lap, riding out her pleasure before she stills, panting with her face burrowed in his shoulder.</p><p>She can still feel his hard length under her, and she moves her hand to stroke him. </p><p>He’s pushing his boxers down the next moment and his cock springs free, heavy and perfect and she wraps her hand around him making him groan and curse under his breath.</p><p>Beth raises her hips a little, teasing the tip of his cock along her slick folds and they both shudder in anticipation. She presses him against her entrance and slowly lowers herself onto him, wanting to feel every inch of him, savor it. </p><p> She takes a moment to adjust to him as they take each other in, eyes bleary, drunk on their want. Beth relishes in the feeling of being completely full, stretched around him. </p><p>She moves her hips slowly at first, while Rio trails kisses from her lips down to her neck until he sucks in her nipple and then the other, alternating between her tits, licking, nipping, and tugging, until his name is a continuous moan on her lips that she’s not even trying to stifle anymore.</p><p>“Damn, you could kill a man. You know that?” His voice is hoarse, cracked. </p><p>Beth doesn’t trust herself to speak. She closes her eyes for a moment, minute, she’s not sure, but when she opens them again she sees his lips moving and knows he’s talking but she doesn’t hear a word. Her whole body abuzz. </p><p>When her hearing seems to be recovered she hears him say “Just like that, baby. Look at us. A perfect fuckin' fit.”</p><p>And she does, she looks down at where they’re entwined together, her pale skin against his tan and it, along with his thumb circling her clit sends her over the edge. It seems to go on and on, wave after wave of pleasure coursing her body. She has no idea what comes out of her mouth but Rio’s looking up at her, eyes dark with something close to awe before he starts pulsing deep inside her, and she feels him spill with the aftershocks of her own orgasm milking every last drop of him. </p><p>“Don't worry darlin', we have all night to do it again, and again”, he says while nipping at her neck, “and again”, side of her breasts, the side of her ribs, his scruff tickling her still oversensitive skin as she giggles, breathless and spent.</p><p>She has no idea what he meant by what he just said, until she slowly realizes what she’s been saying through her orgasm: babbling how much she wants him, begging him not to stop. And she would feel embarrassed any other day, but not right now. </p><p>“So should I go grab you that questionnaire real quick? Maybe some questions you wanted to get back to?” Rio says with that toothy grin plastered on his face, but it’s not as annoying anymore. </p><p>“Nope.”  She juts out her lip with a shake.</p><p>“You sure? Coz I could swear —“</p><p>Beth leans in and kisses the stupid grin off his face. Deepens the kiss, and he groans.</p><p>“If I knew this was all it took to shut you up, I would’ve thought of it sooner.“</p><p>“You tellin' me you haven't been thinkin' it since the moment we met? ”</p><p>“No, I  haven't. Have you?” She asks incredulously. </p><p>“Fuck, yeah. Do you think I flirt with all my clients?”</p><p>“You call that flirting? It would more easily get you killed than laid.”</p><p>“Well, based on the data collected, I beg to disagree.”</p><p>“Oh, so how much data have you… collected.” She suddenly feels awkward, her throat going dry.</p><p>Rio grins. “I don’t usually do this, believe it or not.”</p><p>“So what made me special?”</p><p>“I guess I have a thing for boss bitches with a glare that can kill a man.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s the one.” He drawls, chuckling a little at the look she gives him, as he curls his fingers into her hair and pulls her in for another filthy kiss.</p><p>Later Rio makes good on his promise. They have sex again and again until they’ve done it on each and every surface in the room — the armchair, the rug, up against the wall — and he says as much while kissing her shoulder as they sit curled up into each other on the couch.</p><p>Beth smirks, bites her lip as she slowly stands up and pulls off his shirt that she’s just put on.</p><p>“Not <em> every </em> surface though.”</p><p>She lets it fall to the floor and heads towards the dining table, making sure to add a bit more swing to her hips. </p><p> </p><p>Still naked, he springs to his feet and follows. </p><p>Beth turns to see if he does, and can’t but stay breathless at how unashamed he is of his nakedness, can’t help but admire his feline grace as he stalks after her, taut muscles shifting under smooth skin.</p><p>“I hate this fuckin' thing”, he murmurs as he walks up behind her, watching as she grips the edges of the table, leaning forward a little and pushing out her ass towards him. </p><p>“Yeah, but I love it,” Her response nearly breaks off as she feels him at her back, already hard again.</p><p>He slides his large hand over her round ass, admiring the soft skin underneath his fingertips before he gives each cheek a playful slap, skin turning a shade pink for a moment. She feels him twitch against her ass, small moans she makes in response going straight to his cock. He slides his hands further up her back and bends her over the table, and she shivers as her tits are flattened against the cold surface, the sleek wood against her nipples sending small waves of pleasure through her body.</p><p>They both moan their pleasure and she pushes back a little, rolls her hips as he groans, and sinks his fingers into them, pulling her in closer.</p><p>“Damn, Ma. If you let me bend you over it like this every day, I may learn to live with it.” His own voice wrecked.</p><p>He fucks her in long, hard strokes, the sound of their skin meeting filling the room. Rio reaches around to stroke her clit but she tries to writhe away from him. </p><p>“No, Rio I can’t come again.”</p><p>“Yeah, you can. Now be a boss bitch and take it. Can you do that for me?” </p><p>She nods after a pause and he hums, a low crackling sound. </p><p>“That’s my girl,” He drawls as his fingers find her wetness, and his trusts become harder.</p><p>“Yeah, just like that.” His voice barely registers now over the thrumming in her ears. </p><p>His firm relentless strokes under this angle make him brush over that rough patch of skin over and over until she pulses and vibrates around him. She comes fast and loud and is a babbling sobbing mess as he slants over her, finding his own release, panting and digging his fingers into her hips. He slowly releases his grip to rest one hand on the table in front of them and snake the other around her stomach, leaning to plant lazy kisses down her spine before they untangle. She doesn’t remember ever feeling this spent and sated in her life.</p><p>He wants them go up to her bedroom, but she manages to talk him into cuddling up on the couch instead. Moving even a muscle felt too hard of a task, and the thought of climbing the stairs unimaginable (though she’s sure he wouldn’t have a problem carrying her up). She falls asleep in his arms, feeling the steady weight of him at her back and his arms wrapped around her.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>She wakes up with his warm even breaths at the back of her neck. He's still pressed impossibly close and she feels more relaxed than she has in months, years maybe. </p><p>Then right on cue, the reality sets in. He’ll be awake any moment now and out of her life. This shouldn’t have happened. Married or not, he's got it easy; it's all a game to him.  And she’s still stuck and raw, unable to sit through a few dates. </p><p>Even if he does want a repeat of last night, it won’t be long until someone with less baggage comes along, and he moves on. And she wouldn’t even blame him. But she won’t let herself wait for it to happen either. </p><p>
  <em> What was she thinking? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.” His voice is gravelly with sleep.</p><p>She blinks, forces down the lump in her throat.</p><p>“Hey, morning.” She moves to get up but he pulls her in closer. </p><p>He’s so warm and he’s everywhere around her. She hates the way her body immediately melts into that false feeling of safety. </p><p>“Don’t. Stay.” He purrs in her ear as his large hand flexes possessively on her hip. And she wants nothing more than to stay right there, wrapped up in him, and forget all the reasons she shouldn't. </p><p> If she indulged in it for a moment longer she would easily relent against her better judgment. </p><p>“I have things to do today.” She takes a deep breath, and pushes off, more decidedly this time, and he lets her; props up on his elbow to watch her put on her discarded clothes. </p><p>“A’ight. Wanna have breakfast first?” </p><p>“I’m not hungry. But you help yourself to anything in the kitchen before you leave. I’m going to take a shower.”</p><p>“I see.” He swallows, “So that’s how it is, huh?”</p><p>She glances back at him for just a moment. </p><p>“Last night was—” And she doesn’t know how to finish that sentence. </p><p>A mistake? No. </p><p>Amazing, but it shouldn’t happen again? </p><p>What do you say in these situations? She really wishes she had more time to come up with something.</p><p>“No, got it. Don’t worry ‘bout it.” He straightens up and starts putting on his own clothes. </p><p>He eyes her for a moment longer before he adds, “See you around, Elizabeth.”</p><p>“Yeah.” she turns to go, feeling his eyes on her until she rounds the corner. </p><p> </p><p>She takes a long time in the shower. Stands with her chin up as the water cascades down her body, not able to do much in terms of scrubbing or washing her hair, each conscious movement too jarring. She just needs the soothing stream of water on her face for now.</p><p>He’s long gone by the time she’s out. </p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*hides*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Can I call you tonight?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beth shifts, tucking her sockless feet under the soft knit blanket before taking another sip of her coffee. From her position in the window seat, she has a perfect view of the garden through the bay window as the soft morning sunrays flood her office. <em>He was right</em>. The thought forms before she can stop it, her defenses coming up a little slower this early in the morning.</p><p>
  <em>I just think that the window seat would look better in the living room.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I see why you’d think that, darlin’, but I’m tellin’ you. You’d be lookin’ at your neighbours’ overgrown hedge, and the sunlight in the morning ain’t it.</em>
</p><p>She argued that there was just enough sunlight in the living room, and that she didn’t have the time to sit around watching the sunrise anyway. The whole thing was purely decorative. He just shook his head at her in amused disbelief. Their argument was settled by a bet in the end. She can’t even remember what it was, except that it involved two very similar shades of paint and made Mick roll his eyes when they asked him to pick who was right. And at this moment while enjoying the last few peaceful minutes before the kids wake up, she can admit that she is glad he won that bet.</p><p>It’s been two months since Beth settled in her new home and the kids moved in as well. After the chaos of deciding what they wanted to keep at their dad's and what at Beth's place, and after the initial excitement finally subsided, they were slipping into a comfortable routine.</p><p>Today is a change to Beth’s usual routine, however. After dropping off the kids at school, she came straight to work. She's covering the morning shift with Ruby, filling in for Annie who took a day off so she could spend it with Ben.</p><p>It’s his birthday the following weekend, but they’re having the party at Greg’s. Annie and Ben still have their birthday tradition of having a breakfast of Oops!All Berries, then going for a bad movie they can laugh at and rip apart before getting shushed and glared at by other patrons which would only make them giggle more. Their next stop is some diner where they order the greasiest thing they can find, and everything off the dessert menu. After that they usually end up at the arcade in the mall. They play all the games they can before their vision blurs. It’s really more of Annie’s day than Ben’s, yet he never complains. Just does his best to keep her from slipping into a food induced coma.</p><p>Beth smiles looking at the clock on the wall behind her, wondering where they are so far in their schedule. Ruby comes out of the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh double chocolate cupcakes, and the delicious aroma of cocoa fills the air. The store bell chimes at the same time and even though it does that whenever someone is in or out the door, for some reason she will later feel that she didn’t need to look up to know whose eyes have landed on her as the morning sunlight casts a long shadow of the figure approaching the counter. And then a small figure peaks from behind the larger one.</p><p>Beth finally lifts her gaze to see Rio and Marcus standing before her, matching smiles on their faces. As expected, Rio doesn't even try to pretend he’s not looking her up head to toe. Marcus bounces beside him looking at the selection of cakes and pies.</p><p>“Hey,” he greets.</p><p>“Hi,” Beth puts on the best smile she can manage, wincing internally at how weak her voice sounds.</p><p>Ruby says her hello as well, and is about to offer her assistance when she must notice the weird vibe, because she suddenly becomes very busy arranging that tray of double chocolate cupcakes in the showcase at the far end of the counter.</p><p>“Busy day?”</p><p>Beth looks around the place and the three lone patrons having their coffee and reading the morning newspaper.</p><p>“Not really. You? I mean, how have you been?”</p><p>“Good, good. Almost done with that new project.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s great,” Beth nods and Rio mirrors it, slowly, his eyes never leaving her face.</p><p>He seems to snap out of it after a beat, his hand coming down to squeeze Marcus’s little shoulder and then tickle his side, which sends the boy giggling, “So, this li’l guy’s been pesterin’ me about your cupcakes for ages, so I figured today is as good a day as any.”</p><p>“Of course. Marcus, honey, pick whatever you like. My friend Ruby here can give you some great recommendations. She’s just made a fresh batch of her delicious double chocolate cupcakes.”</p><p>“Oh, and this is Rio,” Beth adds as an afterthought.</p><p>“Hey, I’m Ruby. Nice to meet you guys,” Ruby flashes them a grin, and if Beth didn't know her best friend as well as she did she would miss the cognizant look that crosses her face as her eyes briefly meet Beth’s.</p><p>“So Marcus, I hear we’re on a mission to find the best cupcakes around here and we’re given free rein.” Ruby steps to the other side of the counter to bend over the showcase next to Marcus and explain what’s in every cupcake they have.</p><p>Rio chuckles. “Please try not to spoil him more than he already is. His limit is three cupcakes.”</p><p>Ruby laughs and nods, but Marcus is already hypnotized by the selection, his nose almost pressed to the glass. They’re all very much aware that it’s a lost battle.</p><p>Turning back to each other with faltering smiles, Rio and Beth just stare for a beat before they awkwardly slip into work talk and then the conversation flows more smoothly. This is the longest she’s gone without seeing him since they’ve started the project and it is something she should be getting used to — his absence. So why does the mere sight of him feel like sating a craving. Why can't she stop her eyes from drinking him in like she's parched in the desert.</p><p>Beth's grateful that Marcus doesn't seem to be an indecisive kid and within minutes Ruby is already boxing up their cupcakes. He ended up choosing six, claiming that half of them are for Rio, and convincing no one. When Ruby finishes packing them up, she excuses herself mentioning something she’s left in the oven.</p><p>Rio tries to pay but Beth refuses. And when he tries to protest, “They’re for Marcus, not you. Trying to impress my loyal customer.”</p><p>He chuckles, that easy sound that she’s got so used to hearing reverberate through her house, “A’ight then.”</p><p>Beth nods and, after another moment studying her face and a ‘<em>see you around Elizabeth’</em>, Rio turns to leave.</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Elizabeth?” Marcus’s voice makes Rio stop halfway to the door.</p><p>“Yes, sweetie?”</p><p>“You promised I could meet your kids,” his eyebrows furrow a little, as if in disapproval of Beth’s obvious failure to keep her promise.</p><p>“I did,” Beth says slowly, eyes fleeting to Rio for help. He just shrugs, leaves her hanging. <em>The dick.</em></p><p>“So when can I meet them?” she looks to Rio again, but his eyebrows are raised in faux innocence, like he’s curious to hear her answer as well. <em>The absolute dick.</em></p><p>“Well…” she looks back at Marcus. His eyes wide, excitement evident, an expectant look on his little face, and Beth just can’t find an excuse good enough to let him down, “…how about Sunday? We could go to the park?” she looks from Marcus to Rio who just seems surprised for a second before his lips pull up into a lazy grin.</p><p>“It’s a date.”</p><p>Marcus bounces towards the exit excitedly, and Rio hangs back a second to respond to Beth’s glare with a shrug and a smirk, “If it’s any consolation, he does it to me all the time. It’s like a superpower of his.”</p><p>Beth just shakes her head as he follows Marcus out the door.</p><p> </p><p>“So…” Ruby’s voice startles her as she's still trying to recompose.</p><p>“Where have you disappeared to?” she snaps, trying to get her blush under control.</p><p>“To check on the pies in the oven. Oh, and also to escape this awkward scene. Annie was <em>not </em>kidding,” Ruby rolls her eyes dramatically.</p><p>“Please, not you too,” Beth sighs in resignation.</p><p>“I mean, I’m not even gonna comment on… all that,” Ruby raises her hand towards the door with a circular gesture, "but the way you two were staring at each other shouldn’t be done in public. I don’t <em>ever</em> want to see that again.”</p><p>“You spend too much time with Annie. I should rotate your shifts for a while,” Beth shakes her head trying to shift the topic.</p><p>Ruby just huffs. She knows she’s right.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>It doesn’t take long to spot Rio at the park. He’s wearing black sweatpants and a simple black T shirt. She’s only seen him dressed down like this once, when he had to change after that whole mud incident, but she didn’t have much time back then to appreciate how this simple outfit that would look too plain on anyone else somehow only accentuates the attractive lines of his body. Beth makes a mental note to return his clothes from that night. Washed, dried, and stored away in her closet, she keeps forgetting.</p><p>And now as they approach him from the back, she takes the moment to take in the sight of him completely relaxed, kicking a soccer ball back and forth with Marcus and laughing each time the boy kicks the ball back with the seriousness of a professional player.</p><p>“Mommy’s happy,” Emma declares, skipping next to her.</p><p>“What?” snapped out of her gazing, Beth’s voice comes a bit shrill just as Rio turns to see them approach.</p><p>“You were smiling real pretty,” Emma explains.</p><p>Beth clears her throat and tries to abate her blush, hoping that Rio won’t think anything of what her daughter just said. When she looks back at him he’s smiling as well, his face open in a way she only sees when he’s with Marcus.</p><p>Her attempt at introducing the kids goes unnoticed as they are already running off after Marcus who starts organizing them into teams with that serious look on his face that reminds her so much of Rio when he’s engrossed in a task with his crew.</p><p>“Well, that happened quickly.”</p><p>Rio lets out a throaty chuckle, “Yeah, he doesn’t hesitate.”</p><p>“I wonder where he gets it from.”</p><p>He tips his head back at that and guffaws, that full bodied laugh that trickles through her and settles warm beneath her skin. It causes a few moms on the next bench to turn around and look him up and down appreciatively, not the least bit embarrassed that Beth has caught them. A twinge of <em>something </em>makes itself known, something that she has no right feeling. But all the same, it makes her want to step closer, run her hand down his cheek. She’s rarely felt that way before. Not when a few parents at the PTA events flirted a bit too openly with Dean after a few glasses of wine. Not even back in high school when Jessica Peterson used to slip notes in his locker even though she knew he and Beth had been dating for a year. Dean told her all jocks get them and she shouldn’t worry about it.</p><p>She schools her features as Rio’s laughter peters out, and before he notices her staring a bit too intently. They walk up to the nearby bench, and Beth makes sure she sits far enough that she doesn’t feel him so near, but close enough that he doesn’t find it intentional. She could swear she still sees the briefest smirk cross his features before he licks his lips and drapes his arms over the backrest, his fingers inches away from her shoulder, his foot resting on the knee of his other leg. He always seems to take up more space than he needs.</p><p>After the initial lull, they eventually start talking. Rio tells her about his most recent project, while Beth shares that she’s started that business course she always wanted to. She feels silly for mentioning it, convinced that he must have forgotten all about it. It’s been almost two months after all. But he immediately lights up, starts asking questions as if he’s genuinely interested, and so they slip into easy conversation while occasionally laughing at the strangest game of soccer they’ve seen. Somehow they end up closer together on the bench than before, his hand occasionally brushing her shoulder lightly, or his fingers absentmindedly playing with the strand of her hair. She wonders if he even notices. It usually happens while they’re deep in conversation. She pretends not to notice either.</p><p>Beth giggles at Rio telling her some of the strange requests he received from clients, and the more she laughs the weirder his stories get, to the point she wonders if he’s making them up. From one client who requested a room of their house painted and furnished completely in highlighter green, to another who wanted a whole wing of the house designed only for their pet, and then redesigned shortly after because, apparently, their pug was unimpressed with the first design. She couldn’t help shaking with laughter at that, or the snort that escaped her. The warmth in Rio’s eyes when she finally recovers from her fit and looks at him makes her breath hitch. His fingers graze her shoulder blade, start making small circles there, and Beth just can’t tear her eyes away from his. Everything else falls away, softens into background noise. It’s the exact thing she was trying to avoid by putting some distance between them. She opens her mouth to say something, break this spell, and is thankful to instead be saved by Marcus coming up to ask Rio to join their team.</p><p>Even playing three-on-two, Kenny and Danny kept the ball in their possession most of the time. Beth shoots Kenny a look to remind him to let his younger siblings win sometimes, but he just shrugs. With Rio on their team, the three youngest kids do better, and then it’s Kenny and Danny’s turn to complain about the unfair division, so Marcus joins their team in a diplomatic effort. Beth breaks into laughter, completely charmed by the boy’s manners.</p><p>Rio looks back at her at the sound. His face is open, breaking into a broad smile, the warm, genuine one usually reserved for Marcus, and it makes her heart do a backflip. And — oh.</p><p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p><p>Once his eyes release her she takes a deep breath, shakes off the feeling, and settles in to watch Rio, Jane and Emma play against Marcus, Danny and Kenny, everyone finally content with the teams seemingly more balanced.</p><p> </p><p>The kids beg for ice cream after the park, so they go to the parlor across the street. Beth is taken aback at how familiar it all feels, again overcome by that strange feeling that they’ve done it a hundred times before, like an echo of a memory she can't shake.</p><p>Rio doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by five little people, instead of just one, asking him questions, fighting for his attention, or Jane who’s very close to getting reseated because she didn’t stop poking the bird tattoo on his neck ever since he allowed her to touch it.</p><p>Beth is about to say something about that last part, when Rio looks at her over the bustle and grins, shaking his head once as if to tell her he doesn't mind. Yet he still distracts Jane a few minutes later by asking her to draw him a picture of the tattoo she would like to get when she’s grown up, and she finally stops poking at him. He seems to have done it more for Beth’s benefit than anything else. It works though, because she finally relaxes.</p><p>At some point she gave up trying to steal glances at Rio. She watches him telling the kids about some large pet snakes he’s seen at the house he was working on. The kids don’t blink, completely engrossed in the story. They’ve been so obsessed with snakes lately that Beth can only hope this won’t prompt another round of begging to get one. While her kids are all still enthralled by Rio’s story, Marcus is showing her his collection of dinosaur trading cards. She smiles while he struggles to pronounce the names correctly, and tries to help him with the few names she knows.</p><p>“You have a beautiful family,” an elderly lady says as she stops by their table on her way out.</p><p>Beth falters, opens and closes her mouth thinking of a way to say that they aren’t <em>one</em> family but —</p><p>“Thank you very much,” Rio beams and the lady smiles too as she walks on.</p><p>He shrugs, and she knows it was simply easier than trying to explain who they are to each other to a complete stranger. Yet, it doesn’t stop her from suddenly feeling too warm.</p><p>Once they’re back at their cars, she puts the kids in their seats, and Rio does the same with Marcus, before he goes to lean against her car window, his bottom lip between his teeth, “Well, this was fun.”</p><p>“It was,” she echoes, and he stands there for a moment longer. She thinks about saying that they should do it again sometime, but her words get stuck in her throat so she just smiles up at him as she puts the key in the ignition.</p><p>He taps his fingers a few times on the side of the car before he takes a step back and watches her drive off.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>“I hear you. And I know that I should get back out there.”</p><p>“I’m not saying get into another relationship, but go out, have fun. Use that app Annie installed for you.”</p><p>Beth laughs. She was immediately skeptical about picking her date by swiping right, but then her first suggestion was a guy holding his cat wearing a pink scarf and… she removed the app as soon as Annie left after setting it up and teaching her how to use it.</p><p>“And I want to, it’s just that I’m really not ready for a repeat of what happened with Bryan.”</p><p>Beth has been having this conversation with Gabby ever since she realized how lonely Beth gets when her kids aren’t around, even though she does her best to bury herself in work and a few too many electives at business school.</p><p>“I know honey but, to be honest, I think you weren’t in the mood for a snickerdoodle, that’s all.”</p><p>Beth chuckles, “You’re horrible.” And after a short pause, “You know, you never told me what my cookie says about me.”</p><p>Gabby smiles fondly, not looking away from the cake she’s decorating.</p><p>“You don’t need me to tell you that.”</p><p>Beth’s about to ask her to tell her anyway when Gabby speaks again.</p><p>“You ever found out what <em>his</em> favorite cookie was?”</p><p>“Whose?”</p><p>“You know who I’m talking about, come on,” Gabby rolls her eyes.</p><p>She only briefly saw Rio when he first came to the shop, and Beth didn’t even have a chance to introduce them while she was busy bickering with him, so she hoped Gabby would forget about him soon enough. Of course she didn’t forget, and the fact that Beth caved and admitted to sleeping with him didn’t help either.</p><p>“It was just a one night stand, it doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“Humor me.”</p><p>“He said that he goes straight for the cake,” Beth scoffs, rolling her eyes at the memory.</p><p>“Yeah, I bet that he does,” Gabby murmurs, her eyes suddenly on the door as the bell announces someone’s arrival. And again, Beth just <em>knows</em>.</p><p>Gabby disappears towards the kitchen before she even has a chance to stop her so she could try and use her as a buffer.</p><p>Beth takes a breath before she turns around to face him.</p><p>“The kid wanted more of your cupcakes. Talkin' my ear off all week, ” he says with a defeated shrug. And she almost feels bad for him, knowing full well how hard it is to say ‘no’ to that look Marcus has perfected.</p><p>“I figured,” she chuckles, hoping it sounds as light as she intended, “So what would he like this time?”</p><p>“Whatever you pick out, he loves them all.”</p><p>Rio slowly walks  with his hands clasped behind his back mirroring Beth’s path as she moves down the other side of the counter and picks different cupcakes from the showcase.</p><p>He clears his throat, “So how you been? ”</p><p>“Great. And you?”</p><p>“Good, good,” he returns.</p><p>“And Marcus?”</p><p>“Bad as ever. Just started art lessons, I’m on my way to pick him up now. And your bunch?”</p><p>“Oh, you know. Never a dull moment,” Beth tries for another light chuckle, but it comes out strained.</p><p>“Marcus keeps asking for another play date. He and Jane really hit it off.”</p><p>“Tell me about it. She’s only stopped asking about him like, yesterday.”</p><p>“Best we leave it alone then, huh?” Rio pulls his lip between his teeth, and his eyes never leave her face.</p><p>“Best we do,” she agrees with a small smile.</p><p>He pays, picks up the box and looks at her for a long moment before he nods his goodbye.</p><p>Beth’s grateful that Gabby shows up as soon as he leaves, and takes over the next customer, so she can go out back and take a breath of fresh air.</p><p>She rests her back against the cold brick wall next to the back door of the shop, inhales the fresh evening air, and wills her heart to stop fluttering its way up her throat. It’s been close to three months and it’s ridiculous that he still has this effect on her. She thinks of Bryan coming into the shop a few weeks ago, and how weirdly normal it was, if a little awkward. She didn’t blush, didn’t have flashbacks to their intimate moments each time she looked at his lips… or hands. So why is it that as soon as she sets eyes on Rio her body seems to malfunction, with all the lights blinking, alarms blaring, and the little dial needle in the red.</p><p>Back inside she tries to ignore Gabby glancing at her, probably noticing how distracted she is suddenly. She gives Beth a few more minutes before she speaks.</p><p>“You know that man’s into you, right?”</p><p>“Were you working in the kitchen or eavesdropping?”</p><p>“I can multitask,” Gabby laughs, “but you know I’m right.”</p><p>“I don’t need another complication right now, alright.”</p><p>“Who says it’s gotta be complicated?”</p><p>Beth sighs. How does she explain that he makes her feel like she could float off the ground, but at the same time inexplicably grounds her; that she can’t trust herself around someone able to make her feel like that. So… out of control.</p><p>“Somehow I don’t feel like taking my chances to find out,” she mutters, “and besides it's been months. I'm sure he's moved on."</p><p>"Please," Gabby scoffs.</p><p>"You saw the man,” Beth waves her hand towards the door, “He’s got... options."</p><p>“I saw how that man looks at you. That’s what I saw.”</p><p>Beth huffs out a humorless laugh, thankful when customers start flooding in, and the place becomes busier for a while so they don’t have the time to talk anymore. But once the end of their shift is near, and they’re wiping down the tables, the quiet makes it too easy for Beth’s mind to wander again.</p><p>“How do you know?” that you’re catching feelings for someone. That you might already have. She doesn’t add, and is grateful that Gabby doesn’t ask her to clarify. She takes a minute arranging the clean cups on the shelf behind the counter before she speaks.</p><p>“Well the obvious stuff, the butterflies, fireworks,” she pauses to chuckle, “But then, there’s also the opposite. This calm. Like it makes sense for them to be part of your life, like they always were. It’s just that you’re only now…” she pauses, tries to find the right words.</p><p>“remembering,” Beth finishes.</p><p>Gabby turns to study her for a moment before nodding, “Yes, remembering.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Her  finger hovers over the number for so long she might have memorized it.</p><p>If only he didn’t show up a few days before. She was so close to forgetting the timbre of his voice, the way his eyes burn their way over her skin, make her feel like an exposed wire, crackling and buzzing and needing.</p><p>That whole week after the works on the house were done, she was able to throw herself into moving the kids in. But the next one, when they were at Dean’s, she ended up curled up on the couch a few bourbons in, watching some sappy movie. Her thoughts kept darting to him, not helped by the memories of what went down on that same couch. And then, well, it sort of just happened. She ended up wearing Rio’s T shirt to bed. It was soft and somehow still smelled like him, even after she washed it several times.</p><p>The thing is, she never got around to returning his clothes after the mud incident, and he never asked. Then he was gone and it felt weird calling him only to return something he probably forgot she had. She didn't even try to delve into why it became the only thing that helped her fall asleep. Each time she washed and replaced it in the closet she told herself she would return it or throw it out, but somehow from time to time, she would still find herself falling asleep with her arms wrapped around herself, fingers buried in the soft fabric of his midnight blue shirt.</p><p>And now his clothes have been sitting clean and tucked away in her closet for long enough that she can’t go back.</p><p>Won’t go back.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>He’s just dropped Marcus off at Rhea’s, and with another house project finished, he decided to give himself the weekend off and unwind. He can’t remember the last time he did that, but it must have been months. He should go to the bar, shoot some pool with the boys, or pick up someone and go to their place. All he knows is that he feels especially shitty this week, and he needs to drink or fuck away the tension, preferably both.</p><p>So when his phone lit up with a text from Elizabeth, asking him to pick up some clothes he forgot at her place, he wanted to tell her to keep them, delete the text, delete the number and just head to the bar. But the moment he read it he knew he would do none of those things. He knew that, for some inexplicable reason, if she called he would be there. Even if she scowled at him the whole time. Even if it took the scab off just when he was able to go to sleep a couple of nights in a row without think of her.</p><p>That’s how he ended up parked in front of her house. He knocks and feels every passing second stretch, as he waits for her to answer. At best, she wants another hookup, and at worst she’s going to shove a bundle of clothes into his hands and wish him good night. He can’t decide which would make him feel worse. When she finally swings the door open looking all flustered and beautiful, his first instinct is to turn on his heel and walk away. But he comes in, tries for an easy smile as she immediately starts that idle talk she’s so good at, offers him coffee, food, he’s not sure.</p><p>“Why am I here Elizabeth?”</p><p>She stops talking, a bit startled by his question as if she wasn’t expecting it, “As I’ve explained in the text message, I stumbled upon some clothes and realized they were yours. I’m sorry that I didn’t return them sooner. With all the mess and moving in, I completely forgot I had them.”</p><p>“Keep ‘em.”</p><p>He shrugs and picks up a clay figurine off the shelf to keep his hands busy, turns it in his palm. A kid made it. It looks like it should’ve been a lion, but seems more like a pig with a hat. <em>Jane</em>, he thinks and the corners of his mouth quirk up. He can still feel Elizabeth’s eyes on him.</p><p>“I — I don’t need them,” she says slowly.</p><p>He walks over to where she’s standing, and his eyes flick to the couch behind her, before returning to travel up and down her body. He sees her fluster, her mind probably going to the same moments spent on that couch months ago, when he had her writhing in his lap, purring his name in his ear until he could barely take it. It all seems like a lifetime ago now.</p><p>He pushes his hands into the pockets of his jacket to stop himself from reaching out to her, to keep from brushing aside a stray curl just so he could trace the blush on her cheek. He knows she would let him, lean into it, and he doesn’t want to make it that easy on her. Not if she’ll just turn around again after and pretend it meant nothing.</p><p>“Then throw them out,” his eyes find hers again with a snarky glimmer.</p><p>“It seems like a waste,” her voice still comes soft, but there’s an edge to it now, a warning, and something in him stretches and purrs.</p><p>“Then keep ‘em,” he repeats and feels like a jerk already, talking in circles, but he doesn’t care. Isn’t the one who initiated this whole mess.</p><p>“I don’t want them!” she almost yells now, “I don’t want your damn clothes!”</p><p>
  <em>There she is.</em>
</p><p>“What’s this really about, sweetheart?” he takes another step forward, a smirk pulling at his lips when she fidgets on her feet.</p><p>“Don’t call me that. And if you won’t take them then I’d like you to leave.”</p><p>He looks at her for a moment longer, all breathy, her pale skin glowing, cheeks still flushed that color he won’t ever be able to see again and not think of her, eyes fleeting to his lips when he wets them, before piercing him again — her resolve in place. And he knows the image will stay with him when he sits at the bar an hour from now, when he buries himself in someone else the next. He knew that already before he came here, so there he has it.</p><p>“Okay. A’ight,” Rio nods a few times and turns to go.</p><p>“And don’t come to the shop anymore,” he turns on his heel at that, a stupid flicker of hope in his chest that he shouldn’t be feeling right now. He shouldn’t be feeling anything at all.</p><p>“Why?” he challenges.</p><p>“I don’t want you to,” she juts out her chin in that annoyingly adorable way that she does.</p><p>He hums, his amusement too evident to even attempt to hide now, “Why?”</p><p>“Does it matter?” she rolls her eyes dramatically, like he’s the one being unreasonable.</p><p>“It does,” he doesn’t miss a beat, his voice smooth.</p><p>“I don’t know what you want from me here,” she huffs out.</p><p>“I want you to be honest, Elizabeth.”</p><p>“What is that supposed to mean?” she frowns shaking her head.</p><p>“Means you made yourself very clear before, and now you comin’ to me after all this time with this lame excuse,” his face is closed, voice bored, nothing betraying the sinking feeling in his stomach. </p><p>“It wasn’t an excuse. Stop assuming that you know anything about me,” her steely gaze undercut only by the rapid rise and fall of her chest.</p><p>“You’re right. I don’t,” he opens his mouth to say something, but nothing seems like it would make a difference. He’s tired and done. Nodding, he sucks on his teeth and throws one last glance back at her before he turns to go.</p><p>She doesn’t stop him.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Annie wanting to celebrate Ben’s birthday has been written a long time ago, so any similarity to season 4 is accidental! </p><p>To everyone who is still sticking with this story, I’m sooo sorry it took this long and that I ended the chapter this way again! Chapter 9 is almost completely written and will be up very soon! But find me on tumblr as @m00dyfern if you still feel like yelling at me.</p><p>(Chapter title is the song of the same title by Dayglow)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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